Discworld RPG
by Mrs Wizzard
Summary: Watch the adventures of a food vendor, a guard, two werewolves, a wizardess, a vampire, a drunken priest, and his God, watch them travel to exoctic places, uncover shocking secrets, piss everyone off, and witness the return of a certain psychopath murdere
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to the first (as far as I know) Discworld Message Board RPG!! If you are going to read this, please leave your insanity at the door and pick it up on the way out (though, why you'd want it back is beyond me) This was done by the good people at the Terry Pratchett Books message board, and they deserve all of the credit. For easier reading, the posts will be labeled so you know who's talking and when, the members are as follows (any not labled means that this is something that a subcharacter is doing):**

**Eskimo: **_**played by Eskimo (E)**_

**The Priest: **_**played by Max aka helicopterpassoverhead (TP)**_

**Gigio: **_**played by Gigio the Guard (G)**_

**Mrs Wizzard: **_**played by Mrs Wizzard (me) (W)**_

**Gaspodea: **_**played by Jinzu (GP)**_

**Mrs Pin: **_**played by George:TheAllSeeing (MP)**_

**Jeannie: **_**played by Jeannie (JA)**_

**Jake: **_**played by Jake (JU)**_

**Patrick: **_**played by Thumpy (P)**_

**Barrucadu: **_**played by Barrucadu (B)**_

**All other characters mentioned are a copyright of Terry Pratchett (the ones not owned by him were made up on a whim)**

**(Don't worry, our writing gets better as the story goes along, and since each chapter is so long, I'll update only once a week to give everyone the chance to finish reading them)s**

**(Also, thanks muchly to the boardies for letting me post our masterpiece -^_^-)**

(E)

Greetings,

Uvunga C.M.O.T. Eskimo, i am an entrepenuer who believes that all may be bought or sold for a profit... well.. at least to sell at the break even mark... well... i will not go hungry as i can always eat what i sell...

*spit* *cough* hack *

note to self... never ever try to eat what you sell... ever...

i am new to the line of selling meat (well mostly meat... well mostly meat coloured... well... mostly cooked meat coloured... well...) onna bun* where i come from no one knows... not even me... but i will tell you this... i am a mystery to most (including myself) and that my first calling hasn't been trying to poiso... i mean feed the masses...

MEAAATTT ONNAAAA BUNNNNN 1/2 price... and i am cutting my own toe... believe me... (that just doesn't have the right ring to it... does it?!)

i have just arrived to the beautiful city of Ankh-Morpork and have met the lovely ...

*have since changed from a dwarf fighting bread to a less deadly pastry type... retalliation from customers hurt less this way

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(TP)

Blessings be upon this, um, house. I am a Opportunist Religious Priest (points at various religious symbols on robe). In my spare time I sometimes help outg Death with his job. He has become like a second personality for me. Ask me anything, I know the answer! I have been everywhere, you name it! And the constant switching to the more powerful religiouns has granted me lots of wisdom and a new perspective upon Life. May the Great God Om bless you!

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(E)

I awake in a daze... never ever.. (this time listen!) eat your own product after drinking (especially after drinking!)... not even this weak looking imported clear beer... whats a FunnelWeb spider gots to do with beer any way..?

in the darkness i hear a moan... and turn to the sound... fumble in a pocket for a match... and interestingly enough I find one... wonders how many beer and meat inna bun I did have*...

quikly makes a mental and physical count of body parts... in case an igor found me and thought i was dead and still usuable... all present and accounted for. *phew*

in the glare of the weak match light... i notice across from me is a _______________

*does not want to remember the fact that I invented a new product... never wants to taste a seal pie flaoter again... esp. not today going the opposite direction!

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(G)

Gigio is a guard of the city watch, who enquire "Do you need help? Aren't you C.M.O.T. Eskimo? I'm Gigio, learning to be a watchman under the training of Sgt. Colon and Cpl. Nobbs. By the way have you noticed any unlocked shop doors? I don't know why, but the Cpl. Nobbs always asks about them (must be a security thing)"

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(E)

ahhh an officer of the watch... i have heard of them... are they to be avoided or should i get him to help me?

does the reason i am in this city require assistance...?

as i try to stand... the young guard reaches an arm out to steady me...

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(W)

G'Day!

I am wife to the incompetent wizzard, Rincewind. As we *attempt* to stay in the city I earn my living by taste testing C.M.O.T. Eskimo's various things inna bun. How do I earn a living from this? Thanks to that incident with a big stick and a box of marbles, I have no feeling left in my own stomach. Thus, allowing me to street perform by eating Eskimo's stuff inna bun. People pay and wager on how many I can eat before it/me ends up a big mess all over. I split the money with Eskimo, (and by "split" I mean Eskimo gets off with most of it), and head for *home*. I watch as my employer is brought to his feet by a watch guard.

"Are you all right, sir?"

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(G)

All you all right Mr. C.M.O.T. Eskimo?

Have you heard that some bald monks on top of the Ramptop have a special recipe that can make edible almost anything?

I'm very keen on security by the way, when have you last update your ketchup & mustard? They seem quite old, at last try to patch them (with some vinegard?) you can run to the new shop in the corner 'dressingupdate' I think it was...

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(TP)

Blessings be upon this ... house! I'm sure you're all pious, honest and god-fearing folk? Of course you are, course you are! Well then, ahem *reads some passages out of The Holy Book Of Om so fast, you cant even understand a word.*  
Phew! Now, I am sure some good, law-abiding, _generous_ folk like you will be able to donate a few coins as a substitute for my lack of breath. *stares expectantly*  
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(E)

the voice of the guard seems to be coming in clearer now...

ahh yes, the memories of the Funnelweb... never ever bet the taster of *fine* cuisine that you can eat more seal meat floater pies than she can... NEVER...

yes guard, i am fine, just let my assistant and yourself take me to the watch house... i am needing directions to the Post,,, i am expecting a parcel. i have a new ingredient coming in from Lancre!

onwards Mrs. Wizzard, and do give some coins to the beggar! what, no coinage left, well then give him some free samples of our fine wares!!

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(W)

Here you are, beggar. *drops a piece of unidentifiable meat into the begging cup*

Shall we be off, then? *follows the guard and Eskimo down the road*  
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(G)

Here you are, mr. Eskimo, Aly the postwoman is due to pass in a few minutes, you can ask her if she got your parcel, or you can follow her to the postoffice.

Mrs. wizzard, may I ask you how you know that your husband is going to be back, when you see him sprinting away at that speed? Are you as fast as him?

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(W)

After all of the things that we've run away from together I can catch up to him pretty easily. And Ankh-Morpork is our homeland. He'll do everything he needs to do in order to get back. And right now he's just running away from a drunken mob. He probaly said something that he shouldn't have said in the Drum. Nothing new, he should lose them in nothing over 15 minutes.

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(GP)

"Damn!" I peer surreptitiously at the group that currently walks down the street towards the watchhouse, my body pressed tightly against the wall. "What the hell do i do now?!"

I sniff at the air and take in the sharp, pungent smell that emanates from C.M.O.T. Eskimo. I bite my lowerlip, revealing canine teeth. Mhm..i will have to fill my belly before i decide what i should do next...and my canine senses tell me that food is only a watchwatch house away...i peer hungrily at the bit of meat that dangles invitingly from Eskimo's pocket. Yum...i begin to follow them...

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(TP)

*The priest follows Mrs Rincewind, Eskimo and Guard with a totally innocent expression on his face*  
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(W)

*peers behind* *nudges C.M.O.T. Eskimo*

Uh..Eskimo? *signals behind us*

That girl's following us.

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(E)

throw aside the meat and run for it! the other ones got SHARP TEETH...  
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(TP)

*Hides in alley, takes out holy water of Offler, just in case*.

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(GP)

I stared at the hurrying figures with annoyance and disbelief. "What the heck..even in this bloody form..." I rushed towards the lump on meat on the floor and held it lovingly in my hands.

"Dang wizard..." I mumbled under my breath, gnawing at my prize. The wizard had taken off immediately after a close up look of my face, yelling "Bloody hell!". I had risked looking at my reflection in the puddle of rain water on the cobbles, and had thought: 'Amateur wizard...'  
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(W)

*starts running and turns around* Hm..you'd think at least the watchman would be able to keep up. *sees husband running from the Thieve's Guild out for training. shakes head and slows down as Guard and Eskimo catch up* Here, this should speed you two up. *pulls out a small bag of powder from contents of robe and throws it on them* I never said _I_ was a failed wizard.

---------------------------------

(TP)

Oh no, a dead end! And the wol...dog-woman is right behind me, savagely devouring a lump of meat! Its gonna be me next! Best act now, while shes off guard. *does holy horns sign*.  
,,Perish, ghastly Netherdog! *sprays with holy water*  
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(GP)

"Gah! What the heck!" I turned around swiftly and found myself facing a priest.

"Excuse me! Nearly all of my life I've spent without a bath..(mumble..ok sure there that point in time in 'Men at arms' where i did get one..mumble) and some _priest_ tries to give me one?! What heck did you think you were doing?!"

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(TP)

Do not think you can fool me, foul netherbeing! Your foul lies will not draw me into the Dark Side! Your foul temptations wil not succeed!  
*looks for second bottle of holy water*  
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(E)

*sniffs the powder bag handed to me by the lady wizzard... oh no... super sneezing powder* both giglo and i look at the grinning wizzard wife (who is one herself apparently) while she faces us in the direction we were just running from... "get ready!" she yells while seemingly lining our rear ends up for some complicated triple-bank human pool shot!

"to the left, to the left" the guard screams as i feel the sneeze develop deep inside of me.. "to the left or its the shades for usssCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo............."

the lady wizzard soon realizes that travelling as a passenger powered by sneezes is not the best (or hygenic) way to go.

i hear the guard moan in desperation as we bounce off the rimwards wall of the guard house and continue a maddening arc towards the heart of the shades...

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(W)

*hits a pole in the center of the shades* OOF! "Damn, I've really gotta start labeling my pouches of powder. I thought that was my speed powder, not my get-yer-enimies-to-sneeze-themselves-away powder." *turns and sees Eskimo and the guard upside down and against a wall* "Damn!" they shout in unison. "Oh, get over it." *helps them up* "You didn't hit _that_ hard. And it's only the shades. Do you _know_ how many times that I've been chased into here? C'mon, we might as well get a drink in the tavern while we're here. And, Eskimo, do try and pull that troll head off of the guard, will you?" *turns and leads them into the tavern*

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(GP)

*raises hands in front of me in defence* Hey, hey, watch it! What dark side are you talking about?? Only the males do that sniffing to the females where the sun don't shine..and _damn_! I appear to be of the female persuasion at the moment i believe..bloody ugly one though, so i think you are safe from any temptations you might have..listen, do you think you could bring me to one of your wizard friends..only i saw you with this she wizard..and you know, women are more sympathetic with girls and all.._I said put that bottle away_ and i need her to change me back to a dog again..only don't tell her i'm really male..and do you also happen to have any bits of meat with you?

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(MP)

"My dear... um... girl. If you are need of medical attention why don't you come see my husband?"

My name is Georgina Pin, I'm a retired seamtstress and have since taken up needlework. In fact that was how I met my husband, Igor. We run a family business now.

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(GP)

*jumps in surprise* erm..not so much as a miracle ma'am..*looks at Georgina suspiciously* 'You sure you've retired as a _seamstress_? I mean..you ain't trying to force me into your guild are you..cause i've heard it ain't just sewing they do there..mumble mumble? Only that i'm really a dog, and _no really, i am_..wait a minute..you don't look surprised! Bloody wizard..well, it's either someone changes me back, or an extreme makeover from Igor for me...'

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(G)

meanwhile in the tavern...  
What are we doing in the 'troll head' in the shades... I'm going to have my uniform ruined... and you know how much it takes to sew a rip, in the back, large like a medium throwing knife blade... and it's really hard to find a 'real' seamstress these days... can we leave...? now... please... PLEASE....

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(W)

*hiccup* "Dn't worry, G'gio. The p'ple 'ere know mee. They ain't gunna hurt ya s'long as I'm 'round." *takes another sip of beer* "And, Esk'mo, I just wunna tell you, yer meat inna, inna bun, alm'st tastes like real meat." *turns* "....Okay, Gigigio, if yer gonna *hic* turn inta two spinnin' people I guess we can go." *gets up and sways in her spot* "Let's go."  
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(E)

*spins*  
whoa... if i keep drinkin' like that we will end up where i started... dang Wizards... who needs a library and L space... want to time travel... some good ol Funnel web will do it... just gets u so Knurd...

stagerring out thru the night... elbowing the guard...

now... where is the watch house again?

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(MP)

No, no, dear. I _used_ to be seamstress, now I'm a... needlewoman. If you'd like to meet Igor - oh woops,I mean _Igor_, my husband he tends to hang around the Troll's Head this time of night, he gets good business there.

*takes the .. girl by the arm and steers her towars the TH*

What was your name again dear?

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(GP)

"Whoa! Uh..right, my name's Gaspode..no wait...uh..i mean, Gaspodea! Right! Gaspodea!"

*gets dragged along by Georgina*

"Your husband's Igor...uh sorry i mean "Igor", did you say? Got lots of spare meaty bits does he then?" *hangs out tongue subconsiously and begins to salivate*

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(G)

I never tought we were leaving the shades alive..

But out we are mr. Eskimo, now we just have to pass these two menacing trolls...  
They seems to be very angry.... did you sell them something mr. Eskimo?

Hello guys... Sgt. Detritus send his salutations... and may be here soon to give them personally (I hope so...)  
You are really good at looming... what a shining smiles...

Mrs Wizzard, have you an invisibility spell around yourself? Just asking... Just asking...  
what about a teleporting device? It's just not my lucky day than...

Capitain Carrot always says that in most cases violence can be avoided (I'd like to know 'HOW'). What's the hell you sold them Mr. Eskimo???

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(W)

Oh, boy. *roots around in robe again and produces another small pouch* Be'r 'ope this one works. *throws powder on herself and shakes her head* Wow, I got the sobering powder right this times. *pulls out yet another pounch and inspects the powder inside* Okay, this is defineately the teleportation powder. *throws poweder on them and all three disappear and reappear outside of the watch house* Looks like I spilled some on the ground back at the tavern. No matter, only enough to teleport a couple of humans. Not nearly enough for trolls.

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(E)

thankfully that sobering powder sprinled on me a lil... whew!

*looks up to the guard house*

finally... i am here... now where is that post girl with my package!? it holds a vital part of my mission here! oops.. i guess it is now our mission eh guard and Mrs wizzard?!

*enters the watch house behind the guard*

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(MP)

*Now standing outside the Troll's Head with Gaspodea*

Huh, that's odd *looks around* Igor must have gone somewhere else. Sorry, Gaspodea. I suppose we could try the Drum... Oooh! What's that shiny powder down there?

*I scoop up the powder lying in the gutter outside the pub and throw it over me and Gaspodea. Suddenly we are outside _________*  
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(GP)

"The Watch house? Oh _great_! Wait till Angua sees me in my new get-up...mumble mumble..just when i thought i couldn't appear less appealing in front of her..."

*sniffs the air*

"Some people were just here recently...i smell the female wizard! Hey, she's been here...*sniff, sniff* and she's in the watch house! We have got to get in there, Georgina! She might be able to change me back!"

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(G)

...and that sargent, is all about our today's adventures..

*Mrs Pin enters followed by Gaspodea*

Good day Mrs. Pin have you taken an assistant?  
an... 'intresting' girl... a little skinny, but a good personality, I'm sure... and what a beautiful smile (Although, must do something about the breath, I must add)

Have you seen Aly the postwoman? She wasn't here for the last mail delivery and she is always so precise... I hope nothing bad happened to her (It seems she was carring a precious item for mr. C.M.O.T. Eskimo here...)

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(W)

Yeah, and if Eskimo here doesn't get his package his buisness could be ruined. And if his buisness is ruined I would have to go back to doing parlor tricks *shudders at thought* to random people on the street to make money. *notices strange girl* Er..Mrs. Pins, it seems your assistant is having..er..flea troubles?  
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(GP)

*looks about myself* "Flea troubles? Yeah, it's troublin' alright. I had twice as many fleas in the past...this is pathetic! I swore i'd never be clean like this again...er..wait a minute, you're the female wizard right? You can help me, yes?"

*scratches behind my ear absently, causing the people about me to draw away*  
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(MP)

Gaspodea here is hoping for a ... new look. Maybe you could help her a little more than I could, Mrs Rincewind? My skills as a needlewoman can only go s far.  
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(GP)

*glares at Georgina* "Yeah right, i don't have feelings at all..just a common dog by the street, hanging out by lonesome self and all.. _humans_ *rolls eyes*..just turn me back into a dog, alive preferably, and i won't be a bother..poor old me..whine bl**dy whine."  
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(W)

Yeah, I figured you weren't really a human. *snaps fingers and her staff appears in her hand* I almost made Ridcully cry by being able to do that. Anyway, *clears throat* Animas Changious Caninious! *purple light emerges from staff and hits Gaspodea who morphs back into a dog*....*reaches into robe and gives Gaspodea a biscuit out of an uncontrollable urge* There ya go, little doggie.

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(GP)

*yaps happily* "I'm back to normal again! Er...woof woof? D*mn...*hastily* er it's just a side effect of being a human! Woof, woof? Give the doggie another biscuit?"  
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(G)

WOW That was a trick I never saw before.. (excluding during the full moon when Corporal Angua is about) a girl turning in to a dog, or better reverted to a dog...

How are you mrs. wizzard? do you need to lay down? I know real magic can make you really tired... do you want something to eat? Mr eskimo may be has got something suitable...  
Or Corporal Nobby can give you the 'mouth to mouth brathing' thing... He wolud like so much... When we tried with the dummy when Nobby approached the dummy run away...

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(W)

*wobbles a little* Corporal Nobbs? Um, no thanks I think I'll be fine. *shudders* Um, the post woman hasn't been seen in a while. Perhaps, she left the package in the post box?

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(E)

wakes from a hypnotic gaze as if someone was trying to enter my mind... shakes head and shudders...

"no... never again foul fiend... i will never do your bidding..."

*takes off rather thick and furry looking jacket... rips lining and removes a small parcel wrapped in cloth...*

looking at his 2 new friends... " i am sorry to decieve you... i am noty really a purveyor of fine foods... i really am an officer of the watch, bback in my home country, i have chassed an assasin here. i believe that his brother was recently incarcerated by mr Vimes... i think his name was carcer... his brothers name is Farcer..."

*Eskimo proudly shows his new friends his highly polished miniature shield... his watch badge!*

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(W)

*looks blank*....Damn! Talk about your plot twist. So, does this mean we can't keep conning people into buying cheap food for stupid bets that I always win? *looks down* ....And can I keep the doggie?

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(GP)

*looks at Mrs Rincewind* "Woof woof, take me with you, woof woof, this cute little doggie can't speak, woof woof, and he could use another one of your biscuits..woof?"  
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(W)

*gives Gaspodea another biscuit* You're so cute!" *kneels down and cuddles Gaspodea*

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(GP)

*munches the biscuit desperately* "Mm..woof woof!"

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(MP)

Huh, I tune out for a few minutes and this is what happens; my companion is transformed and becomes someone's pet and the vender of fine... edibles is really a watch officer?  
Well, does anyone have any work that they need a needlewoman for? (great line, that)

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(GP)

*glances sympathetically at Georgina and whispers to her* "It must have been the history monks at work..haven't you heard of the famous line: "Where did all the time go? Er..woof!"  
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(W)

*gets up* Well, now that's been dealt with, what do we do now?  
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(TP)

AHA! I found...*hic* you guysh! *waves beer bottle* Thatsh not nishe, runnunnunning 'wai ... like that! After all...we gotta go shlay... the badgerer....er.. dragon! Yersh! A Quest to shave mankinds! Wheee... *colllapses*

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(E)

an eveil hiss is heard as if someones discovered how to launch an irate rattle snake at terminal velocity...

eskimo staggers... holding his shoulder... blood oozes from between his fingers...

"its...it... Farcer... get him..."

eskimo staggers to the cobbles in front of the watch house...

he presses his badge to the palm of the young guard...

with his other hand... he desperatly tries to show the group that he has signed his igor doner card...

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(W)

*stares even blanklier* "....Damn. I open my mouth and, the next thing I know, a drunken priest and my employer are on the floor. Well, Gigio, I guess we should, _for goodness sake, Mrs. Pin, he's not dead yet!_ I guess we should bandage him up and keep him in a spare room here. *picks up Eskimo*

*One hour later....*

*closes door to spare room behind me* "Well, he's patched up and asleep now. For now, I suggest we go and try to stop that assasin." *turns around* "And I think that we should take Mrs. Pin with us before she dismantles Eskimo like a model dragon. How's the drunk one, Gigio?"

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(G)

Mrs Wizzard haven't you got any of that sobering powder left?  
I'd hate to left the priest here in the cell now, we have no time to fill a report... The trail is still hot, and when Commander Vimes is going to know that a cop has been wounded...  
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(W)

*throws sobering powder on the priest* "I'm gonna go fetch a cup of water. Be right back." *walks down the hall in the direction of the kitchen*

*A few moments later....*

"Hm..I was sure the kitchen was this wa--OOF! Oh, sorry, sir, I should have watched where I was goi--Oh, crud, not you."

IS THAT ANY WAY TO GREET SOMEONE?

"Yeah, not too many people are really happy to cross paths with Death. What're you doing here, anyway?"

OH, I'M HERE BECAUSE OF THAT *points behind me*

"Huh?" *turns around* "Oh, damn...." *collapses with knife in arm* "Rrgh..w-well?"

WELL, WHAT?

*weakly clutches arm* "I-I just got s-stabbed. Ain't ya s'pose to c'llect my s-soul or s-something?"

YOU'RE NOT DEAD _YET_. I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL YOU'VE COMPLETELY DIED, FIRST

"I-I'm not givin' up that eezly." *faints*

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(G)

Mrs Wizzard... what...  
MRS. PIN HELP!! Can you sew her, or find your husband and let him help her???

Here!!! How they dare!!! Vimes would go spare!!! He's gonna really go spare!!!

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(TP)

Here, Im sure that for a voluntary donation to the church I could patch the wizzard-lady up with some of this blessed holy-water healing wossname! *raises eyebrows expectantly*

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(W)

*standing over own body with Death*

"Hmm..Well, does this mean I'm dead?"

TECHNICALLY, NO. YOU'RE JUST UNCONCIOUS.

"Then why am I in this transparent, no-one-can-see-me form?"

EVERYONE HANDLES COMAS IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

"S'pose there's no harm in that. So, how long do I have left, anyway?"

*Death pulls out a life timer* OH, YOU'VE GOT SOME TIME LEFT.

*shrugs and leans against a wall*  
---------------------------------------------

(MP)

*sniffs*  
Pew! Who poured malt whiskey all over the wound? Drunken Priest, I am looking in your direction.  
*looking over the body*  
Well, she doesn't look good... Gigio, is there a _clean_ table or bench where we could put her?

No?

Relatively clean you say? Well it'll have to do. Incidently, how does someone get _stabbed_ in a _watch house_ ? Tsk tsk.

*lifts the wizard up with the help of Gigio and carries her to the reltively clean table in the cafeteria*  
Don't worry, Mrs Rincewind, you just need a little patch up. You'll be on your feet in no time.

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(W)

"At least her husband isn't coming in." *follows group into cafeteria* "If it wasn't for that damn assasin sneaking around this place I wouldn't be in this condition..Ugh..I didn't even know I had that much blood in my body." *turns head away from scene* "Hmm?" *notices Death has gone and looks blank* "Great....I've been talking to myself for the past ten minutes...." *shakes head and waits to wake up*

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(G)

Well Mrs. Pin your stitches are very good... but was really necessary to embroid "Don't take this towel home, it belongs to the Riviera Hotel" all across the wound???

Anyway the blood has stopped flowing and she is no more in danger of dying...

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(TP)

All praise the Great God Om for his healing powers! But he is angered because of your lack of faith! a small donation would fix the problem..

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(W)

*snaps to conciousness and sits up* "...." *recalls the last half hour* "AHH! We gotta get that assasin before he tries to kill anyone else!" *looks at wound* "And why am I now labled as a towel belonging to some hotel!?...." *pays priest to stop chanting*

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(MP)

Well it seemed a waste not to use the ret of the string... Wait, did you say assasin?! Surely it was a mistake? Why would an assasin be here?

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(W)

"....Were you listening when Eskimo explained the whole thing? Oh, well.." *takes a few moments and explains everything to Mrs. Pin* "So, now we have to catch Farcer before he tries to kill anybody else. So, where should we start on this case?"  
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(G)

I've looked in the records we have on criminals, It seems that the guys come from Sto Lat and there are four different brothers...

Carcer (must be in the cell)  
Darcer (unknow)  
Earcer (unknow)  
and last but not least Farcer (who was involved in Eskimo's enquire)

(no big amount of fantasy for names in the parents)

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(W)

"Hmm..These records come with iconographs..This one! Darcer! He's the one who attacked me. They must be looking for the where Carcer is. Farcer's running around somewhere, too, with the other two. I put a spell on Eskimo's room so no one can penetrate it. Not even through the windows. But first we have to check with the Assassins' Guild to see if they've got the proper membership and liscence."

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(MP)

What imaginative parents they must have had to be given names like that.  
*sighs*  
I've never liked the Assasins' Guild, my fingers itch whenever I walk past. Still, if we must...  
*follows Mrs. Rincewind and Gigio out of the Watch house*

----------------------------------------------------------

(W)

*walking up to the Assassin's Guild door* "For the last time, priest, I don't _care_ if Blind Io needs glasses, so stop begging me. And put that holy water away! Gaspodea _isn't_ a demon. *sigh* C'mon, let's just get this over with." *knocks on door*

-------------------------------------------------------------------

(TP)

Let me handle this madam as an excuse for my earlier mistakes and innapropriate behaviour! *assassin opens door* Good day! I.. HA! *sprays holy water into eyes of asssassin* *dramatically* The triumph of faith! *kicks assassin in the unmentionables* Proceed, brothers! oh, and sisters!  
----------------------------------------------------------

(W)

"....What the hells have you been smoking, priest!? These people can legally kill us! You can't just walk up to someone who's allowed to kill you and kick him like that! Ye gods, I hope that guy is just a client." *helps the man up* "I'm really sorry, sir, it's just that-*man's hood falls back*- Vetinari!?"

-------------------------------------------------

(TP)

*Pulls hood over head, hides behind George:The Allseeing*

-------------------------------------------------------

(G)

I've just remembered my patrol turn is going to start in just about 3 hours ago...

Ok... Ok, we will try to sort this mess, first!  
I just hope he will not be 'ironic' about what just happened.

You must have really surprised him, I can't think a reason why the patrician want to be hitted in the unmentionables by a drunk priest... unless...

THIS IS NOT THE PATRICIAN

is just a mask and not really good, without the hood you can notice it.

*removing the mask*

this man is Earcer one of the brothers, bind him with your 'holy rope of penance' we must discover what he was doing here disguised as Vetinari...

I've better send a pigeon to the watch house.

have anyone of you seen my pigeon???

--------------------------------------------------

(W)

"Ooh! Ooh! I got it!" *removes hat and chants magic words* *reaches into hat and produces Gigio's pigeon* "I've always wanted ta do that" *smiles*  
-------------------------------------------------

(TP)

Oh and Im not drunk, Mrs Rincewind was so kind to sober me up with some pagan sobering up magic.

-------------------------------------------------------------

(G)

Let me tie this message for Commander Vimes to the pigeon's leg, he must be warned of the danger from the brothers...

*release the pigeon that flies away*

Have you Mr. priest bound his hands to the pole of the 'absolute no parking your cart, no you can't even for 5 minutes' signal, in a secure way?

We better try to speak with Sir Downey...  
but I don't think the brothers are associates, they have no style, and also some years ago they killed 19 people, because they left the exact description of the victim home and are known to have killed not only without being payed , but also without any apparent reason

----------------------------------------------------------------

(TP)

Yessir, bound up the sinner, sir, have also blessed the ropes for more protection sir. May God Bless you sir and I am sure that the Watch is inclined to reward such law-abiding citizens like me for theyre brave deeds with a small donation..

---------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

"Okay, Priest and Mrs. Pin, you stay here and watch Earcer. Gigio, you come with me. We need to talk to Lord Downey..Plus, I'm a total coward and would like some protection." *smiles innocently*

*walks inside Assasin's Guild*  
---------------------------------------------------------

(G)

It is almost an hour that we wait for lord Downey...  
I hope in the meantime someone from the watch come to collect Earcer... the priest is a good fellow and his rope was strong and very blessed... but...

*summoned to the head assassin presence*

So my lord you assure us that the brothers have absolutely no connection with the guild...

I see from the record they were discharged from the guild school for usless cruelty to animals...  
They also failed the 'inhume ONLY the target, without destroy a large part of the city' test...

Mrs. Wizzard we better see about the prisoner and be back to the yard...  
Thank you for your time, my lord, I know how much busy you are...

I almost forgot, have you any clue about the presence of Earcer deguised as the Patrician inside the guild?  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Lord Downey shook his head grimly. "I'm afraid not. He came in and tried to steal away with out weap--sorry 'assasination tools' when I caight him and commanded that he remove his mask. He turned around and made a break for the door. He would have gotten away if your wizard friend here hadn't bumped into him and knoced him out." He got up to show Mrs. Wizzard and Gigio out. Opening the door he turned to the pair. "By the way, may I know the names of our saviors of the day?"

"My name is Gigio," said the guard.

"I am Mrs. Wizzard." Lord Downey looked blank.

"..May I ask what your first name is?" he inquired.

Mrs. Wizzard looked a bit startled by the question. "..First name?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(G)

What we have until now...

We know there are four brothers... One is in the jail waiting for the trial (Carcer), the second one (Darcer) was last seen when he assaulted you (Mrs. Wizzard), the third (Earcer) must be still o/utside with the now sober priest (hopefully still tied to the pole) and was here on mission to recover some weaponary (will this be true???), the last brother was involved in some investigation that was made by Eskimo.

Well Mrs Wizzard let us join the priest and the prisoner...

--------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

*laughs nervously* "Yes, let's get off the subject of my first name, and go check on those three." *ruses oustide and sees everything is, thankfully, exactly how they left it*

-------------------------------------------------------

(G)

Here they are Constable Visit and Sargent Detritus with the cart to collect the prisoner...

Visit just filled the beggin bowl of the priest with his phamplets, I hope that will not start a war of religions...

Luckyly Detritus has the custody of Earcer, removed the pole from the street and loaded the cart with the prisoner like it was a 'pig on a spit'

-----------------------------------------------------

(TP)

*shouts at visit in uncrompehensible language, gesturing wildly; sees Mrs Wizzard and Gigio* Greetings, i am sure the generous Lord Downey has given you a small donation for me...er...my god, for I am sure you didnt forget to mention my...um...gods valuable help in capturing the vile evil villain!  
--------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

*rolls eyes and saerches recesses of robe* *produces tuppence and drops into begging bowl* "Now, that that matter is settled, we should really get back to the Watch house. I imagine that Darcer is still stalking around there looking for Carcer."  
*hops onto cart* "Well, c'mon guys, we might as well take the fast way back to the Watch house."  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

(G)

We are back to the watch house, the place was searched from top to bottom, but there was no trace of Darcer...

*Gigio takes some coin from the tea cash and put them in the beggin bowl*

Thanks for your help Mr. priest...  
(so now he will not beg for whole two minutes!)

Sergent Detritus is questioning the prisoner...  
"YOU DONE IT! GIVE UP! WE KNOW YOU DONE IT!"  
May be he will be more effective when Earcer wakes up...

---------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

*scribbles on makeshift check list* "Lesse, now...." *reads off list*

Carcer: captured  
Earcer: captured  
Darcer: supposdly sumware on premisis (last seen inn thee hallway)  
Farcer: free inn thee streets (last seen outside of thee Watch house)  
--------------------------------------------------------

(G)  
*returning in the room*

There are news Mrs. Wizzard, tomorrow there will be a meeting to start the trial for Carcer...  
Commander Vimes thinks it can be used to set a trap for the remaining brothers.

The watch will be on 'guard'. We will have Colon & Nobby at the gate being obvious and seeming to be the only cops looking at the people caming in.  
Vimes and Carrot are going to be present officially for the trial (also is very difficoult to make them 'invisible' they are too well known).  
Many other cops will be placed in plain-clothes between the people that will assist to the trial and outside the courtroom.

There are any way your talents can help us?  
Some binding spells will be nice...

----------------------------------------------

(W)

"Hm..binding spells? Lesse what I can find...." *reaches into the endless recesses of her robe and rummages around* *muttering to herself,* "Hm..sequens, cards, spray on wossname, fly paper - hey, where'd my giant mutant, fly go? Oh, well - ....Ah, here we are" *produces a small leather bound book titled _Ayncient Magik Spells Ande Wossnames_* *flips rapidly through the pages* "....Here we go, now. Yes, I have some spells in here that should be efficient. It's getting rather late. Gigio, would this place happen to have anymore spare rooms? I saw my husband running out of town before we got back. He shouted something to me about not being back for a couple 'a days...."  
------------------------------------------------------------------

(G)

Yes, there is a spare room, is the second on the left Cherry used it as a lab sometimes, so be carefull, check that the bed is free and that the air is back to breatheable...

I'll be up and about, if you need me just ask to the deskman

goodnight

----------------------------------------------------

(W)

"G'night Gigio," Mrs. Wizzard walks into the room to find it, on the contrary, to actually be quite an inhabitable place. It was a bit of a mess. She liked it. It gave the room a homey feel to it. Mrs. Wizzard flops onto the bed and pulls the brim of her pointy hat over her eyes. Quickly, she falls asleep. Just by looking at her, you could tell it was not easy to wake her up. She slept so soundly that a thunderstorm couldn't stir her. The wizzard moves gently in her sleep as a dream drifts into her head....

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile the two remaining free brothers are preparing for the trial...

Farcer: Earcer, was almost out of the guild, when he was catched from a watchman and some others interfering B******S!

Darcer: One of them was that female magician (how that can be! Magic and women dosen't mix well, everybody know that) that I stabbed in the watchouse. Next time I'll have to kill her.

Farcer: Don't fret brother, we'll have other chances. Let's talk about tomorrow, surely the watch will be present and I want no surprises.  
Was Earcer able to do all before he was arrested?

Darcer: Yes. We are now able to do as we like, we have the man word.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Mrs. Wizzard stirs. She sits up and lifts up her hat's brim. Rubbing her eyes, she peers at the clock on the wall. 5 o'clock in the morning. Mrs. Wizzard staggers to the full length mirror, and looks herself, up and down. Perhaps she should dress a bit nicer for the trial. "Nah, what's a wizard without her robes, anyway?" Deciding she looks good enough, she sits on her bed, pulls out a book, and reads as the dim morning light spills in from the window.  
---------------------------------------------------------------

It's seven in the morning, Ron and his friends are selling the Times of AM in the streets and the trial for Carcer got the headline. AM's citizens are heading for the courthouse, they aren't missing a good show. CMOT Dibbler is on the plaza in front of the courtouse selling his goods (or better he is trying to sell his higly suspicious sausages in a bun). The watchmen are watching, sgt Colon and cpl Nobbs are at the main entry and have at last both eyes open, some gargoyls are on the roofs around the plaza, others cops are around less evident, but also watchfull.  
Cmdr. Vimes and cpt. Carrot are entering the building giving a nod to the VVW (Very Visible Watchmen)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

"That was fun, guys, but I've gotta go now. See ya later, Dibbler." Mrs. Wizzard enters the courthouse, leaving many a groaning man and a very happy looking Dibbler, holding a small wad of money in his hands, behind. Supressing a burp, she spots Gigo and takes her seat next to him, on the prosecuting ((or defending, I have no idea)) side of the court room. Out of the corner of her eye she thinks she sees something moving in the shadows, but quickly dimisses this suspision as the trial begins.  
---------------------------------------------------------

The trial is on... Carcer isn't cooperating at all, he dosn't want to be hanged it seems.  
The Judge General is listening with a big grin in his face. He is happy when he sees the opportunity to hang someone. (and he also get some percentage of Mr Dibbler profit for such occasions) In AM they have introduced lawyers only recently and only cause they are nastier than the mob, when there is a trial, but for now the people in the hall is listening with interest at the list of Carcer's crimes.  
Suddenly there is an empy space where Carcer was till a minutes ago and then the real mess starts.  
Some people the ones in the front rows try to flee outside, others, the ones in the back want to see what's happening and try to go forward, most of the watchmen are blocked from the sheer mass of citizens.

---------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

"Ohsh**ohsh**ohsh**ohsh**!" Mrs. Wizzard frantically tries to follow Gigio out of the courthouse but loses site of him in the mass hysteria once she gets outside. Quickly, she tries to escape the crowd but nearly chokes as she is grabbed by the neck of her robes. She's dragged into an alley and sees the faces of Farcer and Darcer. Mrs. Wizzard tries to scream but a sack is quckly shoved over her head and her hands are bound behind her back. Struggling to escape, she flails her legs before being hit over the head and knocked out....

*Later*

Mrs. Wizzard wakes up to find the sack has been removed but she is now bound to a chair in a dark room. In the darkness she can just barely make out the faces of the two brothers. She's so frightened, that she is temporarly at a loss for words....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(G)

After that most part of the people escaped from the hall Gigio emerged from the some overturned benches, Vimes and Carrot are on the spot where Carcer was and Gigio quickly join them.

Gigio: What happened here Commander?

Vimes: We don't know yet. But I'm gonna to find, damn it, I smell burning, if this was an inside job there will be 'consequences' I can tell you

Carrot looking down: There is something here on the floor, but I cannot smell anything strange Commander, if you want I can fetch Angua, you know she can smell very well

Vimes sighing looks closely to the floor, takes a dagger from its armor and carefully insert it between two boards on the floor

Vimes: don't worry about your nose Capitain, help me here.

There is a 'boing' from a spring and a square of darkness opens itself on the floor

Vimes, inserting his head on the hole: A trapdoor! There are tunnels here, they can lead anywhere in the city

Carrot: I will go with Gigio looking into the tunnels, you have to check the last brother on the watch house Commander, I fear they also tried to free him

Gigio: I was with Mrs. Wizzard I hope nothing bad happened to her

Carrot: No time for that now, Let search the tunnel

----------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Mrs. Wizzard sturggles to get free as she mutters the famous line for a captive to say.*

"You'll never get away with this!" Farcer approaches her.

"Come on, now," he says. "We thought you'd be quite happy to see us, Ma-"

"I told you to never call me that ever again!"

"You've gotten quite touchy since last time," says Darcer. "Didn't you miss us?"

"You tried to kill me, you b*****d!"

"Tried. Failed. Formulated a new plan."

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh, yes. That guard is bound to come looking for you, eventually. And when he does, we'll be waiting. Until then, enjoy yourself." Mrs. Wizzard tries to scream again but a piece of duct tape is slapped over her mouth.

"Mhh Mh Mhh Mh Mhhmhh!"

*Mrs. Wizzard has always been one for the classics

-----------------------------------------------------

(G)

Carrot and Gigio are searching the tunnels under the courthouse.  
Carrot: There is a lot of 'mud' the track are easy to follow  
Gigio: I hope no new 'mud' will came, the place is already stinking, I didn't know AM got a sewer system  
Carrot: some of this tunnels are really ancient, how very intresting  
Gigio: the track end at this door, there is a grate on the celing, if I can climb onto your shoulders I can check where we are  
Carrot: Ok, let's do it  
Gigio: Capitain, there is a little problem...  
I think we are under the assassin guild, I can see the training ground, better be carefull around here...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Carcer enters the room.

"Hello, brother. Did you make sure Lord Downey got his 'summons' to see the Patrician?"

"Yes, Farcer. He'll never find us hiding here, in the guild. Have you and Darc- What was that?"

"It sounded like the trapdoor," said Darcer. The brothers look over to the trapped Mrs. Wizzard who's eyes widen. Farcer smiles.

"Well, then," he says. "It appears they've found us. Brothers, you know what to do."

"Yes, Farcer. If they come in, we'll teach them a lesson that they won't soon forget."

Carcer warns Mrs. Wizzard "Darcer is going to slith your throat open if we are leaving in a hurry madam, we can't take any 'dead' weight with us.", the eyes of Mrs Wizzard are at this point big as two saucers, "They have found us too quickly... Farcer have you used the 'peppermit bomb' to cover our smell??? You know there may be a werewolf in the watch!"  
"Sure brother, but the smell of peppermint in the sewer is not usual"  
"Obviously, but is better then your smell, if there is a werewolf he can smell when last you changed your shirt!"  
"WOW! can he smell two mounth ago?"  
"sure he can, Darcer you opened our little dam to wash our tracks?"  
"Ops! brother I kinda forgot"  
"YOU SILLY THING! What did I prepare our plans for?? When a bloody a*****e like you can't remember the stupidest thing. Let's end the preparations for our surprise party!"  
---------------------------------------------------

(W)

Oh, no, thought Mrs. Wizzard. This is it. I'm gonna die, and if I die, all my spells disappear and Eskimo's room will be unprotected ((I really miss Eskimo )) Wait!, she thought, Yes, almost.... For the past hour Mrs. Wizzard had been licking at the adhesive on the piece of duct tape that was over her mouth. Now, the glue had given way and the tape fell off of her mouth.

"Gigio, run! It's a trap!*" she yells. A knife blade is held to her throat. On the end is a most furious looking Darcer.

*Yet another famous captive line....  
-------------------------------------------------

(G)

"Silence her Darcer, but keep her live for now, she can be usefull" Carcer yells "You are the most useless thing! You wern't able to keep a woman silenced"  
"Everybody know is not so easy..." Darcer tries to defend itself "QUIET and be ready" snaps back Carcer

*five minutes ago*

Carrot and Gigio are studing the gate that block their progress...  
"It's never easy to enter the assassin guild uninvited, Gigio" says Carrot "We'll find tons of traps, I just hope we will find them all"  
"What I'm asking myself is how they have made their lair in the assassin guild" replayed Gigio "They were cast from the guild and normally you don't have access to the guild property any more"

"Gigio, run! It's a trap!"

Gigio tries to move forward, but a big Carrot's hand on his shoulder stops him.  
"Mrs. Wizzard!!! We have to help her capitain"  
"Don't rush headfirst in a trap!"

-------------------------------------------------

(W)

Darcer puts his hand over Mrs. Wizzard's mouth to silence her.

"....Ow! She bit me!" he cries out. Carcer rolls his eyes.

"You dolt!" Farcer yells. He turns to Carcer. "You'd think that by now he'd know that his own- What the-?" Hearing a loud thump behind him he sees Darcer cowering on the floor, holding his head. Standing over him is Mrs. Wizzard, holding her staff.

"How the bloody Hell did you do that?!" Carcer yells.

"I told him that the ropes weren't properly tied and that if he undid them then I'd be more than happy to help him redo them." said Mrs. Wizzard. "I'm actually quite surprised, myself. Usually I can't make my staff appear like that for very long." Mrs. Wizzard holds her staff up, ready to battle the brothers. Suddenly, there is a 'POOF!" and the staff disappears in a puff of smoke. "....Oh, bugger."  
---------------------------------------------------------------

(TP)

Ha! *jumps out of shadow in corner* Curses unto thee! *flails around frantically and jumps around excited, spraying holy water into all directions*

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(G)

Carrot and Gigio are still examining the gate when there is a WHOFFF!! sound and the gate explodes in a thousand burning small fragments...  
"It seems to me that they were able to make Mrs Wizzard very angry indeed" says Gigio "she isn't normally good with fireballs!"  
"We don't need to worry about traps on the gate any more" replays Carrot "be ready Gigio, we are going to enter!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Mrs. Wizzard begins to cough as the smoke clears. "That'll teach 'em not to piss off a female wizard." She looks down at the three brothers, cowering in the fetal postition in the corner. They look up, take one look at her, and run behind Gigio and Carrot for protection. (The priest was still throwing holy water everywhere) Feeling quite satisfied with herself, she walks around the two guards and looks at the brothers. Making a bad mistake by forgetting Gigio and Carrot are standing right beside her, she gloats. "Maybe, now, you'll think twice before trying to kill your little sister-" She remembers the guards and turns around to their horrified faces. "....Oh, sh**...." she says slowly

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(G)

"It is better to signal for the cart" says Carrot to Gigio "We will try to understand something about this mess at the watch house!"

Gigio runs away

Carrot stands with his sword ready "Will I have trouble from anyone of you?... I hate to drag somebody to the cells, I like when the prisoners are able to walk by themself and have 'all' their bits"

------------------------------------------------------------------

(JA)

(hello all , I'm Jeannie. Have recently arrived in Ankh Morpork from Uberwald..the dwarfs mining silver again back home has spurred me into trying life in the city. I have a *ahem* allergy to the stuff......mumble...because I'm a werewolf...mumble)

*her attention attracted by the noise, Jeannie arrives at what is left of the entrance. She sees Gigio leave at speed. She decides it's nothing to do with her and she really needs to find the lodgings at Mrs Cake's, but as she is about to leave, one of the brothers shouts "NOW!" and the three of them try a half witted attempt to make a break for it out of the gateway, Carrot grabs two of them but Carcer gets past him.....*

Carcer " you idiots, you can't even escape properly! well, I'm not hanging around, I REALLY don't want to be seeing the Duke anytime soon....oh sh**!"

Jeannie "GGGGRRRRRRRRRRR!"

Carcer retreats back into the room "Nice..er..wolf.......damn it, you never said Sergeant Angua was with you!"

Carrot looking slighty surprised "She's not, thats not Angua...but, er, I suggest you don't make any sudden movments. The cart will be here soon and you can explain yourselves back at the watch house"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Though she's aware of the werewolf somewhere in the back of her mind, pulls the brim of her hat over her eyes and, very nervously, sidles to the back of the room, afraid to face Carrot and Gigio, once he came back from signaling the cart. She tried to avoid the gaze of Carrot and her older brothers.  
-------------------------------------------------------------------

(JA)

*still in wolf form, Jeannie is distracted by the strong yellowy orange smell of anxiety coming from the lady Wizzard, which stands out among the soap smell from Carrot and the distinctive _lack_ of soap smell from the brothers.

Carcers attention falls on the numerous, and most noticably _silver_ religous amulets adorning the priest. With the were-wolf distracted, Carcer makes a grab for the silver. The priest is too shocked by the events of the last few minutes to react quickly enough, Carcer throws the amulets at Jeannie and a silver chain manages to catch around her neck*

"whine.....yelp.....(bloody silver! ow, it burns!!)"

With Mrs Wizzard trying to fit inside her hat to avoid the awkward questions that she knows are going to be asked, Jeannie incapacitated and Carrot temporarily distracted , there is a opening for the brothers to make a break for it........

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Mrs. Wizzard hears the howls from the werewolf and becomes fully aware of its presence. Being a dog..wolf..canine lover at heart, she lifts up her hat and casts out an arm. Suddenly, the silver around the werewolf's neck turns into copper. (If she could turn it into gold, she'd be in buisiness) The wolf falls to the floor, panting heavily with relief. Mrs. Wizzard turns and casts out her other arm towards her escaping brothers. They are raised off of the ground by a magical force and brought back to Carrot, where they are tied together by an unseen binding. Then, as if nothing had even happened, she went back to hiding under her wizard hat in the corner of the room and hoped that Gigio would hurry with that cart.

---------------------------------------------------------

(JA)

Jeannie : "When I can change back into human form, I'm gonna buy that Mrs Wizzard a drink...actually make that several drinks....ugh, I don't feel so good....I wish I could tell that priest that holy water has no effect on werewolves, I'm gonna smell like wet dog all day now!"  
-----------------------------------------------------------------

(G)

"I don't know what the future holds, Mrs Wzzard, but I think I have to thank you" says Carrot

Gigio is back and reports that the cart is outside with Colon and Nobs, the brothers are lead out of the room, closely tailed by the werewolf, Mrs. Wizzard follows them and last is Carrot... out of the room they found an host of assassins and the most eminent Lord Downey  
"What's happening here Capitain?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Carrot explains to Lord Downey about how the brothers tricked him, snuck into the guild, captured Mrs. Wizzard, planned to kill him and Gigio, stole from the priest, and nearly killed the werewolf. Lord Downey is held back by Carrot as he tries to kill the brothers.

"Sir, I understand that you're angry, but, they must first be tried and, then, justly punished!" Carrot says. Lord Downey relaxes a bit.

As everyone piles into the cart, Corporal Nobbs notices the werewolf and Mrs. Wizzard's charred robes.

"What happened, here?" he asks, pulling out the stub of a cigarette from behind what could possibly be called his ear. Mrs. Wizzard sighs.

"It's a long, long story," she says. The corporal and the seargent shrug and steer the cart towards the watch house. They arrive about fifteen minutes later....

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(JA)

...and proceed inside, Carrot and Nobby take the prisoners down to the cells. (After Nobby had 'searched' them for any loose change or anything remotely valuable)

During this time, Jeannie manages to locate some clothing from the locker room (we werewolves are very resourceful when it come to locating emergency clothing) and returns in her human form. She finds Mrs Wizzard and Gigio in one of the rooms leading off from the main office...  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Mrs. Wizzard has, at this point, resumed trying to make herself at home in her hat, knowing that, sooner or later, she'd have to come out, whether she wanted to or not. Loose threads made for poor company, afterall. She could feel Gigio's stare and tried to figure a way into the pointed bit of the hat.  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Vimes and Carrot join the others*

"We are trying to start to understand the beginning of this kaos!" Vimes says... "Even if eight different storytellers from the remotest lands od the disc, blind and deaf mind you, write completely randoms letters for two years, no one of them will be able to compose a so sensless tale, Nobby please came in with the visual support..."  
Nobbs enters the room with a huge blackboard with some marks on it...  
There is a circle with four men drawn inside, one of them got a pipe, with some smoke curling out of it, a cane and a very strange and deformed hat.  
"I see you have enanched the graphic corporal" Vimes says to Nobbs "This is Carcer the eldest" Nobbs replays "Carcer was already in our hands..." continues Vimes "and now we got also the other three brothers. There is a relation to the assassin guild" and he points to a line that from the circle goes to a sketch of a building inside another circle. "We also know now that there is a sister" he points to a third circle with a wizard's hat inside, another line joints this one with the circle containing the four men  
"I know from Capitain Carrot that you helped the watch, but, you can call me a old suspicious b*****d, I don't belive you got nothing to hide"  
With the Vimes Glare aimed in her direction everyone watches Mrs Wizzard, waiting for the explanation she is trying to hide from having to give by doing her best to take up dwellings in the deepest recesses of her pointy hat...

-----------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Mrs. Wizzard looks up into Commander Vimes' face. It was hard to not be afraid of him when he was like this, but, she did her best to keep the fear from showing with a solemn expression.

"You want to know the whole story, Commander?" she said. "Then, I'll tell you." she sighs. "My first name is Marcer. I was born in Sto Lat with my parents and my elder brothers. Growing up, they weren't very fond of having a little sister. So, they did everything that they could to try and get rid of me. I often locked myself in my bedroom, and studied magic to help protect myself from them. I was able to protect myself by placing a magic shield around my bedroom. But, one day, a fire caught in our home. My parents were killed. My brothers and I survived, but, I ran away before they found out that I was still alive. I escaped, here, to Ankh-Morpork, and enrolled in Unseen University. (I had to prove just how good I was at magic before they would let me in) I never heard from or about any of my brothers again, until the other day when Eskimo was attacked. I imagine that they were surprised to see me alive, again. But, they are my siblings, and because of that, I have some love for them, even if I don't want to. Regardless of how many times that they've tried to kill me. So, Commander, if these men are sentenced to death, you'll understand that I won't be present at the execution." Mrs. Wizzard leaned her head down. She wasn't sad. Nor, was she afraid of Vimes, any longer. She had told the truth that she'd kept hidden for years, and now she was just..done telling it....

----------------------------------------------------

(G)

Gigio, after listening Mrs Wizzard's tale, asks "Aren't you by any chance an eight son, or better daughter? Cause in that case there are other three brothers around. Do you know what Carcer and the others were trying to obtain with their infiltration in the assassins guild, and the patrician disguise?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Mrs. Wizzard turns to Gigio. "No, I'm not an eighth so..daugh..child. One day, I ran into the backyard shed to get away from my brothers, and I found that an elderly wizard had taken up refuge in there. He was sick and hurt so I secretly took care of him for a few weeks. One day, he told me that he didn't have much longer left to live and he wanted to pass on his powers before he died. He said that since I was so kind to him that he wanted to pass his powers onto me. He told me to take his staff and I obediantly followed his wish. I took the staff and felt its power surge through my body as he died. Suddenly, I could see him standing with Death and I knew that I was now a wizard. He thanked me and passed onto his afterlife. I kept the staff well hidden from my brothers. As for what they were doing in the Assasin's Guild, I imagine that they were trying to steal some weapons and wanted to use it as a hideout." Mrs. Wizzard turns back to Commander Vimes, the solemn expression is still on her face. "So, Commander. What will befall my brothers?" She kept her voice level with her current lack of emotions.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"They will have a trial and the Judge will decide their destiny" answers Vimes "You don't committed any crimes, for what I know (obviously you committed some, like everyone, but I'm not aware of them), and you are free, Capitain Carrot told me you and Jeannie helped us, and so you have my thanks, if Jeannie is willing in a few hours Angua is due back to the watch house and can take her to Mrs Cake, I will be in my office if somebody needs me"

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(W)

Hmm, this is new territiory, Mrs. Wizzard thought. No one was chasing her, no one wnated her dead, (who could currently get to her, anyway) Well, that was just fine for her. But, something still felt odd. She felt empty inside. She wasn't hungry. This whole affair had resulted in the loss of her appetite. She was still feeling no emotion. She wasn't sure what to do now, but she felt that she could do with a good nap. Without looking to Gigio or Jeannie, she stalks into the hallway and down to her room. She flops down onto the bed which creaks threateningly. Mrs. Wizzard closes her eyes and tried to sort her thoughts. The hangover should subside once she wakes up.

---------------------------------------------------------------

(JA)

Jeannie wanted to sleep, it had been a long journey from Uberwald.  
But there was somthing she had to do...

*knock knock* on Vimes office door

"yes?" replies a testy voice

Jeannie groans inwardly, this was not a good time to be bothering Vimes but she really had to talk to him

She opens the door and enters.....after a few minutes and a brief yet important conversation she emerges from the office, and sets off out to find Angua.......

----------------------------------------------------------------------

(W)

Mrs. Wizzard wakes up to find that the sun has gone down. It had been a very tiring day. She found it hard to believe that just the other day she was happily challengeing men to sausage-inna-bun eating contests with her friend, Eskimo, who was now in a coma under a magic shield in the room down the hall. She suddenly felt very homesick for the life of making grown men lose it all over the street. Wait..she _felt_ homesick. Yay! She was feeling emotions again. What had caused that emptiness, anyway? she thought..Oh, right. The whole spilling-my-lifelong-secret thing. *sigh* Oh, well. It was out now. She swung her legs around and off of the bed. Now, she was wondering what she should do next. It was too late to be up and about, but, she just woke up, so that ruled out going to sleep. "Unless, I have some sleeping powder," she mutters, going through her robes. She stopped as she caught something on the edge of her vision. Her eyes swiveled towards the window by the bed, looking out into the night. "Who's that girl talking to the troll?" Mrs. Wizzard dismisses the thought as a sudden need for the privy overcomes her. She leaves the room in search for it


	2. Chapter 2

**(The labeling has stopped, by this point we've begun to type the RPG like a novel, so each post tells who is doing the acting)**

Gigio is in his room, looking at the badge that Eskimo trusted in his hands... "this is a Sto Lat badge... it smell a little of cabbages... the brothers come from there also... I'll go to Sto Lat, to see if we can discover something else about this businness and to let the local cops what happened here, I'll ask to Mrs. Wizzard if she want to came with me... she came from the Sto Lat outskirts like the brothers, must know her way around, and a woman that stopped the four brothers easily can be very usefull indeed... I'll ask her tomorrow morning... now... good night!"

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"Hm, Captain Carrot really keeps that privy clean." Mrs. Wizzard returns to her bed and continues her previous search for that sleeping potion. "What's this bottle of wossname?" The label on the mysterious bottle she produces had long since faded. "This is either my sleeping potion or really old rum. Oh well. Only one way to find out." She gulps down the liquid and waits for a few moments. The world suddenly becomes very blurry as she becomes very dizzy. "Definately the hic rum." Mrs. Wizzard slumps back and hits her pillow. Hey, at least it put her to sleep. She'd take some sobering ption in the morning.

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Mrs. Wizzard dreamed of many things that night, but one was the most vivid. She dreamed...of home. She hadn't thought about it in years, but she deeply missed her home of Sto Lat. She loved Ankh-Morpork and it's many..curious smells, but she missed the fresh, cabbage scented air of her homeland. She dreamed of her many memories of quiet nights with her family, (her brothers didn't dare try to kill her when her parents were around) and the amazing things that her mother could do with a cabbage on Hogswatch. Maybe she could return someday.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie turns back into wolf form to try and track Angua, as she does so the vast scents of the city open up before her nose. She smells the familiar scent of werewolf, the smell of the troll who just approached her, the horribly organic smell of C.M.O.T Dibblers 'sausage inna bun', but she also smells something else...a familiar smell, the reason she has come to Ankh Morpork...the smell of the person she has tracked over so many miles...she decides that sleep can wait and heads in the direction of the newest scent...

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Gigio knocks to the door of the room that is used by Mrs Wizzard, but there is no answer, he puts his hear to the wood and listen to a gentle snore "ZZZZZzzzzz!". He don't want to wake her up and so he gets down to the canteen where he makes his breakfast. There is already a bunch of officers eating and speaking about the day that is starting or the night that just ended.  
Gigio sees Capitain Carrot and want to talk with him about going to Sto Lat... "Capitain I had this idea last night..." Gigio explains his idea to Carrot "and I can move with Mrs Wizzard and maybe also Jeannie in plain clothes without rising any suspects" "I don't like plain clothes very much" answers Carrot "but they can be usefull... Just avoid the false bread and the big red nose if you can... and be warned you will have the responsability of the people you are with... they are no cops and they cannot be ordered about, ask them if they want to help the watch with our enquire"

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Jeannie tracks the scent throught the city, as she approaches the city gates the scent gets stronger, as she speeds up in hot pursuit she rounds a corner, and almost collapses from the sensory overload...

"Bugrit...I told 'em...down the blarney I said...Millenium hand and Shrimp" She had run straight into the Smell of Foul ol' Ron. No-one deserved to be ambushed by The Smell, especially a werewolf in full tracking mode

Trying to fight the urge to be sick or pass out, (or quite possibly both) Jeannie whines, and beats a hasty retreat back to the Watch house

Damn the beggar, now I've lost the trail! Maybe I can pick up the scent again outside the city...but my nose needs a rest after that,yuk!

She heads back to the Watch house, changes and heads to the canteen.It's been a while since she last slept, strong coffee is needed and she's sure she can smell some Klatchian roast beans being brewed...mostly sure anyway, that smell really knocked her for six

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Mrs. Wizzard wakes up and blinks in the morning light. What happened? She looked at the empty rum bottle on the nightstand. Oh, right. She sits up, her head aching. Everytime..How do I keep mistaking that for the sleeping potion, anyway? she thinks to herself. She dizzily reaches into the nightstand drawer (she figured she'd need this sooner or later) and rummaged around until she found a small bottle containing a blue liquid. As she drinks it she begins to think clearly again. Noticing the time, Mrs. Wizzard pulls herself out of bed and heads down to the canteen.

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"Mrs Wizzard, Jeannie, I'm happy to see you here, I'm leaving for Sto Lat and I want to ask you if you can came with me, I feel that the source of this mistery is right there... Eskimo and also the brothers come from the Sto plains...  
I know you are not trained officers, but you both got peculiar 'abilities' and so I think you will be able to help with our enquire... anyway the choose is completely up to you, we can talk about the details... (I think that there could be also a little wage as watch consultant)"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

"Gigio, I will definitly come with you...sigh I guess now is the time to tell you, I am a undercover watch officer but until now only Commander Vimes knew.

Captain Tantony sent me from the new Uberwald watch. I'm pursuing a criminal, some-one who murderd a ...a good friend of mine . They slicing her throat open and dumped her in the river, I found her body, floating ...a low growl starts in Jeannies throat I _will_ find the person who did it, and he _will_ be served justice..."

Jeannie realises that Gigio and Mrs Wizzard are looking slightly alarmed and have taken a few steps away from the rather angry looking werewolf...

"sorry ahem anyway...

I picked up his scent again in this city but it left through the gates...I then lost the scent but am certain it headed over the Sto Plains...so yes, you can count me in"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard pats Jeannie on the back. "I'm terribly sorry about your friend. Rest assured, his murderer will pay," she says. She brightens up and turns to Gigio. "I'd love to go. It'd be kind of nice to see it, again. Besides, it'll be a while before my husband gets back and with my employer in a coma there's really nothing for me to do in Ankh-Morpork right now."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thank you for your collaboration. We will leave with the mail coach that start from the postoffice in the late afternoon, we will have to think about our fake motivation to travel to Sto Lat... I'll be a 'semaphor technology researcher' so I'll use the time before we leave to learn something about codecs and sophisticated mechanical devices..."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hm, fake motivation...I know! I'll be one of those wossname people butchers..doctors! I'll be a traveling doctor on my way to help an injured cabbage farmer." Gigio and Mrs. Wizzard look expecantly at Jeannie.  
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"That's good Mrs Wizzard you can have some hint by the Igor we have in the watch, he knows hanna-tommy (I think they are a couple of Igor's friends)"

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" hmmm, I guess a traveling merchant would be as good a disguise as any and shouldn't attract too much unwanted attention...I'm sure I can convince Mr Dibbler to point me in the right direction of some merchandise"

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"Perfect, but we might need fake identities, as well. We should think up some fake names. Lesse...Ah, I'll be Dr. Anita Littledough. Hm, I might be a bit obvious as being a wizard." Mrs. Wizzard removes her hat, pushes the point in, and replaces it on her head. "Everyone knows you can't be a wizard without a pointy hat," she says, taking pride in herself.  
-----------------------------------------------------------

"right, a fake idenity for a merchant...I shall assume the name of Annette Proffit"

Jeannie and Mrs Wizzard both look expenctantly at Gigio...

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I can be a Bill... Bill Enterway or Bill Doors (Reaper Man like) or a Bill Gates  
which one do you like best?

-----------------------------------------------------------

"I like Bill Enterway. So, Bill, when d'we leave?"  
--------------------------------------------------

As previously said we have three tickets for the mail coach that will start about 'in the evening'. If you have any open business to close or hello to say or note to write (if you husband is currently abroad and still accelerating...) then please don't give any detail about our mission in Sto Lat. See you at the postoffice... Miss Annette nodding ... Mrs Anita... nodding

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie nods back  
"I'll just be off out for a while...I'll see you both at the Post office this evening"

After a mysterious couple of hours involving a quiet word with Mr C.M.O.T Dibbler, Jeannie arrives at her room laden with various ahem quality... no, she really must try and say that whilst keeping a straight face..try again...ahem _quality_ merchandise

after packing everything she needs, Jeannie lays on her bed and falls into a troubled sleep. She dreams of a river,of a body spinning and hitting the rocks as the water flowed towards her and presented the crime committed by unknown hands, the only clue was a scent on a piece of cloth held tightly in her hand She had waded into the water, her heart pounding, she had turned the body over, seen the knife wound across her neck, looked into her dead eyes and...howled...

Jeannie woke herself up with the howl, shaking her head she tries to dislodge the image of her lifeless face that haunts her every time she closes her eyes. "they _will_ pay..."

She takes the long route to the Post Office to try and clear her thoughts before meeting the others.

She sees a few people milling around, and decides to try her salesmanship while she's waiting , well a bit of practice won't hurt...

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard strolled to the post office, lost in her thoughts. A few hours ago she'd sent an albatross containing the letter to her husband. They were often seperated like this. Whether it was one getting chased out of the city or the other. But, they'd made it work. She was currently concentrating on returning to her homeland. She didn't need to pack, really. She hadn't many personal posessions when she'd first entered the city. All she had was what was already stored inside of her robes and her staff as she held it firmly in her hand, the purple knob glowed slightly of octarine light.

------------------------------------------------------------

Gigio is studing the " **Precision mechanical devices in the modern communication systems** - edition updated to the last century of the fruitbat development", when he becomes aware that is time to reach the postoffice, he puts away his uniform and wears a confortable suit, packs some books and some odd tools and leave home.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside the post office Jeannie is getting into character

"yes madam, this is the latest in haircare products, your hair will look stunning after just one application...what?...no, I know it _looks_ like someone's crossed out the word 'pet' on the shampoo bottle but..."

Jeannie looks closer at the bottle " sigh I'm gonna throttle that Dibbler when I come back!...Madam? where did she go?"

Jeannie shrugs, packs up her merchandise and waits for her companions to arrive. She sees Mrs Wizzard approaching and walks over to join her.

"Well, I'm all ready.So we are just waiting for Gigio now then?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Looks like it," said Mrs. Wizzard. "And I talked to that Igor that Gigio recommended, and I can tell you this much: I don't plan to be a _real_ doctor _or_ a patient anytime soon."

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On to mail coach to Sto Lat

"I'm Gi... Bill, Bill Enterway, it's always a pleasure to meet new people, you know that with the latest technology there is so much throughtput on the trunk that more than 160 characters for seconds can be sent (just don't ask me how they all will travel so packed and without a single seat for them)... and so you miss Crisplock are working for The Times and traveling with the man I saw climbing on the roof with a lot of boxes and a cage full of salamanders"

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As Jeannie approaches the coach to load her case onto it, she notices the Vampire who is carefully fastening several boxes on top of the coach, including a cage that seemed to contain several salamanders

"oh no" she groans "not a vampire. Oh please please please don't tell me I have to share a coach all the way to Sto Lat with a vampire"

she wonders if she should forewarn 'Anita' and 'Bill' about the werewolf-vampire thing but decides against it. She would just have to deal with it, the journey to Sto Lat wasn't very long, she should be ok.Fullmoon was still a few nights away, the wolf should be easy to control

As she boards the coach she rummages in her bag for a comb, suddenly she's sure her hair's a mess

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard piles into the coach after Gigio and Jeannie. Normally she didn't sit well with coaches, she enjoyed a simple lifestyle, but it would be a good opportunity to take a short break from all the choas that had been going on lately. Her life was changing again. Her job was gone, and her friend was still lying dormant in the Watch house. She took a final look at the city as the coach rattles off and on its way.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"...and so you miss Proffit are going to start a new beauty farm business in Sto Lat, I hope you soap and shampoo aren't cabbage flavored, that's the tipical kind of farm they got there... That's one of your sample bottle? Very nice, it come with this bracelet and medal too.. beautifull label 'for glossy coa(cough..)hair'...  
and you mrs Littledough are in the medical profession, I'm impressed, it's the first time I see a female sawb..doctor. Have you kil..healed many people?"  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard didn't hear Gigio. She was rummaging through the medical bag filled with the tools that Igor had suggested bringing along. The were bandages, splints, saws and scalpels of various sizes, and several wavers.

"Hey, lookit," she said. "I've got one of those stepa..spetho..heart heary thingies." She took it out and hung it from her neck. "Hm, what's this?" She pulled out a white lab coat that had a few unidentifiable stains here and there. Her face lit up and she put it on. It went well with the red cross that she had pinned to her hat.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie relaxes knowing that the vampire is staying on top of the coach. As the coach picks up speed she resists the urge to stick her head out of the window

She tries to keep her mind on the here and now, but there is something that is making her uncomfortable (and it's not the sight of Mrs Wizzard gleefully brandishing a hacksaw)

there is a very faint whiff of a smell, too faint for her human nose to pinpoint, but she can't change into wolf form infront of everyone, especially Miss Crisplock,and she can't shake the feeling that it's important...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard finds a peculiar looking saw in the bag. It had chains on it and a cord. Curiously, she give the cord a small tug. BRRRR! Gigio looks up.

"What was-"

"Nothing." She quickly replaces the saw. Afraid to touch anything else in the bag, Mrs. Wizzard closes it up and sets it aside. A feeling of familiarity comes over her. She looks out of the window just as cabbage fields come into view. Memories of harvests and the dances that followed came flooding back into her mind. She remembered dancing with her friends as a young girl. Despite her brothers, she actually had a very memorable childhood. She felt complete, except for an empty space that was tugging at her heart. Mrs. Wizzard hadn't shown it in years, but she terribly missed her parents. She hadn't seen them after the fire, only her brothers. She presumed them to be dead. But, that tiny flicker of hope that they might still be out there had kept her going all of these years. Mrs. Wizzard was pulled back into reality by a bump in the road that made her seat bounce.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie is distracted by the smell, she inhales deeply in order to try and get as much of the scent as possible. She keeps sniffing as she tries to make the connection between the smell and the nagging feeling, she becomes aware that Miss Crisplock is giving her a very odd look

"would you like a handkerchief perhaps?" 

Jeannie reddens and mumbles "no,s'fine...just, erm, allergies that's all"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard inhales the air simply for the enjoyment of it. For the frist time in years she felt like she really belonged. Suddenly, a thought occurs to her. She turns away from the window.

"Where in Sto Lat are we going, exactly?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"you know the place better than me Mrs W...(cough) Anita  
Maybe you can point us in the direction of an inn that serves a half decent pint and we can chat over a bite of supper?"

Jeannie yawns and stretches "and booking some rooms wouldn't be a bad idea either"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm not sure what you'd consider decent, but there's the Lazy Farmer Inn just around the corner. I enjoy their beer and they rent rooms. The food's pretty good, as well. I'm sure they'll have some rooms availeble."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

the coach arrives in Sto Lat, the passengers disembark and colect their various luggage.

Jeannie asks Mrs Wizzard for directions to The Lazy Farmer and asks her and Gigio to meet her there in half an hour. With puzzled expressions on their faces they agree and set off to the inn

She waits until all the passengers have gone, and slips into an handy alley next to the coach

she slips out again a moment later, her paws make barely a sound as she sniffs around the coach, she can finally explore the scent that was just beyond her human range

aha, I thought so! but why am I finding it here?

satisfied, she slips back into the alley, and emerges in human form and in deep thought

she makes her way to the Lazy Farmer...

----------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard watches as Jeannie enters the Inn and beckons her to the table where she and Gigio are sitting.

"Hallo, Jeannie. I've ordered us a round of Sto Lat's famous beer." A mug is put in front of Jeannie. Gigio looks curiously at his.

"It smells strongly of cabbages," He says.

"Yeah, wait 'til you taste it," Mrs. Wizzard says delightedly. "By the way, Jeannie, I've booked us three rooms. You're staying in room 105." She hands Jeannie her room key and goes back to happily drinking her beer.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The priest stumbles into the Inn. 'Hah! I shure showed em, hic dint I? With the woshname of thur hic Blinn Yo I hath clensh'd ye pag'n Kl'tch'ns. hic S'r sh'w'd th'sh t'w'lh'd's wh'sh ... woshname... Boshsh! 'm g'na s'rk'r't an' s'n'tz'l... falls on floor humming happily

--------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard doesn't look surprised by the priest's condition. She simply looks up from her mug. "Yeah, that'll happen." She halps the guy up and sits him at the table. "Somehow, I think that he shouldn't be having anymore beer for the day." Gigio and Jeannie nod in agreement and the priest sways in his seat giggling.  
------------------------------------------------

With the ocasional worried glance at the giggling, swaying priest Jeannie begins to speak

"ok then, while I was back at the coach I found a clue...but it dosn't make any sense. You probably noticed I could smell something, well it was very faint but it was..."

the drunken priest tries to thrust a pamphlet at a passer-by but in his enthusiasm he flings the whole stack of them, the majority of them hitting the man square in the face, they cascade around the bar room and off the mans shoulders.

Gigio: "any chance you've got any more of that sobering powder 'Anita'?"

Jeannie: "either that or some really strong Klatchian coffee?"  
--------------------------------------------------------

Hearing the word 'Klatchian', the Priest leaps up, loses balanca, falls in ground, steadies himself and shouts pointing at a mug of beer: 'Hah! Take that hic Towelhead!' He flails in the air a bit, disturbs some passers-by, and then someone throws a bottle. A bar brawl ensues.  
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard looks around at the commencing brawl. "And this, my friends, is our cue to hightail it outta here." After a few moments of running and tripping over herself, they're all upstairs in Mrs. Wizzard's room. (a couple of people were killing each other by the front door) She sits the priest in a chair in the corner and looks him up and down.

"Any diagnosis, 'doctor'?" Gigio jokes.

"Yes, I can conclude from this man that there is not enough sobering powder and/or potion on the Disc to fix this guy up. So, I guess I'll have to conjour something up to do the job." Mrs. Wizzard's staff appears in her hands and after a few mystic chants...she whacks the priest ove the head with it.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie winces at the sound of the Priest being 'treated' by Mrs Wizzard

"um...so...anyway, the smell was one I've smelt before, but a long way away when I was travelling near Lancre. It's the smell of a unique type of explosive liquid used by the dwarves for mining.  
As far as I know they refuse to sell it to outsiders so I'm uncertain why I could smell it here, but it is mingled with the scent of the man I'm pursuing."

"If a man like him has got his hands on some of that stuff..."

Jeannie shudders at the thought of what damagae could be done, she'd seen that stuff in action. It almost rivalled Mrs Oggs scumble!  
------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs Wizzard gives the priest an ice pack for the newly formed bump that is now on his head. She turns to the other two.

"Well, I think the first thing we should do is see if we can find any dwarfs that might know something about it. If that fails, Jean- I'm sorry, 'Annette' might be able to track the scent and see if it leads to anywhere nearby."  
--------------------------------------------------------

groansAh, I see I am involved in another suicidal adventure. WOuld this be the die a horrible painful quick death type, or die a horrible painful long death type?

----------------------------------------------------

"Ya know, I think it might actually be a combination of the two." Mrs. Wizzard looks at the growing bump on the priest's head. "Sorry, about that, by the way," she says. "But, apparently the, uh, 'K' word made you go nuts." She sidles away a bit. "So, how do we get out of here? The front door is blocked by the fight that's going on downstairs."

-----------------------------------------------

Jeannie opens a window and peers down to the alley way next to the inn...it's quite a drop

"any chance you have got some very long bandages we can use 'Doctor'?"

--------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard stands beside Jeannie and looks down. Suddenly, she makes a small involuntary 'eep' noise. Like her husband, heights didn't exactly sit well with her. She considered her options. Well, at least this was better than going downstairs and risk getting killed by very big people with very big weapons.

"Well, I don't think these bandages would be strong enough to support any of us." She looked around the room, to the bed. "But, we could go with an old classic." Mrs. Wizzard removes the quilt and the sheets from the bed and, after a few minutes of frustrated tying, she's holding a makeshift rope. She ties one end to a bed post and throws the other end out of the window, watching it come to a halt just above the ground.

"Well, that's taken care of. But, only one question: Who should go first?"

----------------------------------------------------------

Ah, well, I think I could help out a abit there. By the will of Blind Io I sentence you to go first points vaguely into the direction of Miss Wizz and Jeannie, musing wich one would be more violent in berserk mode

---------------------------------------------------

Jeanie folds her arms and gives the priest a 'look'

"I'll go first, if anyone is lurking down there they'll soon wish they weren't"

She climbs down, checks the alley and beckons to the others

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard rolls her eyes at the priest and climbs out of the window. Clenching her teeth, she grips the rope tightly and slowly climbs down. When she gets to the bottom, she releases the breath that she was holding on the way down and turns to Jeannie.

"50 pence says that the priest tries to get Gigio down first."

----------------------------------------------------------

Gigio swings down the makeshift rope and suddenly a big shout escape from his lugs "OOOOOooooooOOOOOOOOHhhhhh!"  
he falls to the ground and wears a puzzled face, while trying to explain the shout to his companions... "I don't know why I had to shout... I was thinking about how the librarian move well on ropes and such, with his four hands, and then I thought 'Jane is in danger...' and I had to shout... I also tried beating my chest with my fists, and that's the reason I fell"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hmm..It might have been the cabbage beer getting to you. It tends to do that the first time someone drinks it," She brightens up. "But, it was quite a good entrance." Mrs. Wizzard helps the guard up and looks him up and down. "Well, you don't seem to have any broken bones, just a few bruises." She looks back up to the window. "I just hope that the priest is sober enough to get down all right."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Ah, well, you are well behind me as I am already down here with all of you' says the priest against all worldly evidence.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard spins around to see that the priest is, in fact, right behind her. "But, you..H-how did..sigh Oh, forget it. Nothing makes sense arounds here." She turns back to Jeannie and Gigio. "So, where are we off to, first?"

------------------------------------------------------------------

"We can try talking to the major, commander Vimes thinks he is a reiable enough fellow, or we can try to check the dwarf community, there are few dwarfs here, (no many cabbage mines around...) almost all making tools used by farmers"

---------------------------------------------------------

"I think that we should split up and look for clues...why do I get the feeling we should have a large cowardly dog that talks and eats sc-oo-by snacks?"

Jeannie shakes her head to clear it from the bizarre thought...

"um..anyway, I think that maybe some of us should talk to the dwarves and the rest should talk to the mayor. then we should meet back in the bar later on and see what we've found out?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"I'll talk to the major, there is also a minor matter with the semaphore tower that I can discuss with him, we will meet at the inn this evening. Someone wish to come with me?"

-----------------------------------------------

"I think that I'd better talk to some of the farmers. You'd be amazed at the kinds of stuff they see in a day. And those pitchforks can do a world of damgage if not handled properly, so I'd better bring along my medical bag."

----------------------------------------------------

"Ok, I'll talk to the dwarves. I'll see you guys back here when we're done."

Jeannie beckons to Gigio and whispers "Maybe the priest should stay with you? He might upset the dwarves if he comes with me, they don't much like having leaflets flung at them and being called heathens, and some of those axes have silver in 'em!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, thats a good idea, Jeannie! I shalt followeth thee to ye drawven mines, so's we can cleanseth ye pagan lands. I am truly glad you finally have dcided to join our camapaign against the heathens. Onwards, my merry fellow friends!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Gigio went to the major office (which is really his shop, the major Goosehead is a part-time major)."Good morning major Goosehead, I'm Bill Enterway from Ankh Morpork, come to speak with you about the building permissions needed to upgrade the semaphore tower..."  
they talk several minutes about the permissions  
"...and that will be a benefit for both our communities... Are you worried about something major? You had a far away look, a minute ago, can I do something to help you?"  
"No, no, nothing to be worried... really"  
Gigio thinks (well... you may be a decent fellow but you are the worst lier I saw, and I see Nobby almost every day)  
"I'll need some parking permissions for the big carts and some security advices, may I talk to some of your watch officers? I haven't noticed a watch-house on the main street"  
"We are a little community..." the major seem relived by the way the conversation turned from his problems "Our watch got a little office on 'broadsword way' a little lane at the south-end of this street, you can talk with sargent Revocekat"

---------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard approaches a couple of cabbage farmers who are tending to their fields. They looked up as she came over.

For what seems to be an hour, they talk in a carefully worded lingo used by farmers all over the world. Only one who has spent years around growing up with them could possibly understand it. When the conversation seems to end, Mrs. Wizzard turns around and walks away

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie makes her way to the Dwarfish community, musing whether she could give the Priest the slip. As they draw closer they hear a yell, followed by the sound of axes being drawn and a hell of a lot more shouting.

As the Priest surges forward in order to 'show the heathens the error of their babarian ways' Jeannie grabs him by the collar and pulls him into a side street

"sorry about that, but the only thing that will be converted if you go into that ruckus is your height.

Attached to your legs are you? do you want them to _stay_ attached to you? ok then, lets come back later"

They make their way back towards the inn, Jeannie wonders what the dwarf fight was all about. she decides it would be best to find out later when it's a bit calmer. She wonders how the others are getting on...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Priest and Jeannie sit at a table in an awkward silence, both trying not to smell the vegetable aroma wafting out of their tankards full of the local speciality beer.

Jeannie looks around the tavern and her attention falls upon a pair of dwarves sat in the corner...well, she was supposed to talk to the dwarves so she might aswell talk to them seing as the dwarf district was not exactly the pinnacle of calm right now.

She walks over to the table where they are sitting, the dwarves stop their conversation and turn to glare at her.

"Hello there, I'm wondering if you could help m...Chrys Hammersmith? what on the disc are you doing here?!"

Chrys : "Me? what in the name of Glod are _you_ doing here?"

She averts from the dwarfs gaze and quietly replies "I'm hunti..tracking Minnies killer"

Chrys : "Oh..I see, that's just...how are..."

The dwarfs shoulder visibly sag, he shakes his head sadly "It's a shame it's come to this Jeannie, but the least I can do is give you a friendly warning. Don't delve too deep, you might uncover things that are best left alone"

Before Jeannie can ask what he means, he nods to his companion and they hurry out of the Tavern.

----------------------------------------------------------------

_Crystalises out of nothingness._

"Greetings, I am the God of Worst Case Scenarios and Pockets That Seem To Contain Far More Than They Should Be Able To. But my friends call me Barrucadu. Unfortunatly, I have no friends, having just incarnated. Will **you** be my friend?"

_Notices Jeannie backing away slowly._

"Hey, don't go... I need followers..."

_Takes an entire cooked horse out of his pocket and begins eating it, miserably._

"Why does nobody like me?"

_Notices a freelance priest ambling around nearby._

"Wow, this is a great day! Um, excuse me Mr..."

_Looks at the Priest expectantly, but gets no answer._

"...Priest. Could you worship me, or at least make a small heap of stones in my honour? I can do more than pockets and worst case scenarios, honest! If you want someone smiting, just stand them next to a very old tree, and i'll do the rest!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard walks into the tavern and looks aaround for her friends when she notices them being talked to by what appeared to be a new God. She sighs. Life on the Disc was never easy for someone like Mrs. Wizzard. She was a monotheist. Seeing other Gods around made her a bit nervous. Overall, she feared them, mostly. It was gonna be a long day, Mrs. Wizzard thought as she walks over.

"Er, hallo friends," she says. "Whose this cough gentleman?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gigio is at the watch-house and is trying to acquire information...

"...so caporal Nobbesco I don't have to fill any form and such? I just pay you 5 AM$ and I can park the cart for the tower repair anywhere... Are you the only officer manholding the house?"  
"Yes, why do you ask?"  
"I have also to take some security precautions and I like to discuss them with your commander"  
"He is very busy, maybe you can find him on thursday from 4PM to 5PM or you can pay to me 5 AM$ and I will guard anythings need guarding"  
"Well thank you, officer, you have been helpfull, here are your 5 AM$"  
"Are these money for the parking, the guarding or the information?"  
"For the information... I'll be back later for the others" (I better be back to the inn or, in the worst case, this one will take all the money I got for the trip!)

----------------------------------------------------------------

gasp Hear ye Hear ye! A new god hath arizen and thou shalt worship him, for he trult doth be the most powerful of all gods, present company excepted, of course (he said in a slightly lower tone of voice, jsut in case any other gods might be listening). And he shalt raiseth hell and calleth upon demons and thunder and fire and hell out of his pockets of the eternal wisdom and thy sins shalt be punished for the souls that have conspired against the brotherhood of the mighty barrucadu, leader of the universal lemon! catches breath

---------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard edges towards the god. Somehow she felt safer near him than with the priest. "So, um, right. Nice to, er, meet you Mr. God. I'm, er, Dr. Anita Littledough." She was still getting the shakes from being near either of them.

-------------------------------------------------------

approaches Mrs Wizzard with mad gleam in his eye Do you not praise the Great Barrucadu? Thou must not look upon him while starting a sentence. While you speak, move your head slowly in a zig zag pattern 56 degrees to the right while clapping your hands in the following rythm. Tu-tum. Tum-tum. Tu-tuh-tuh-tum-TUM.  
turns to Barrucadu I expect to be paid extra for the wizard lady, shes one tough...um...lady (he finished lamely). I take my job seriously you know, unlike _some others_ . leers at trash can and dog pissing on a bench giggles faintly

------------------------------------------------------------

The preist was beginning to worry her more than the god. An idea came to her mind. "Well, preist, does the Great Barrucadu know how many times _you_ changed your religion s as to be the worshiper of another god? How does he know you'll remain forever loyal to him instead of converting from Barrucaduism?"  
------------------------------------------------------

I have sworn to remain a Barrucadist forever! How dare you deny the great Barrucadus decision of me being High Priest! Oh, great One bows in front of Barrucadu as low as he can smite this unbeliever, so that the world shalt be cleansed of one more heathen pagan! notices Mrs Wizz's look mutters not _mortally_ though, not as such. Maybe a few mild bruises? An itch? No?

----------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard mumbles to herself. "I think he was better when he was drunk." She walks over to the window and looks out to the road. "I wonder where Gigio's run off to," she says to the world in general.

----------------------------------------------------------

Gigio enters and close the door after himself "There is something smelling here."  
the priest seems offended "Was it a 'personal' remark?" and Mrs. Wizzard open the window "No, I was talking about the city" now is Mrs Wizzard which is offended "Cabbages aren't exactly roses but Ankh-Morpork is far worst in the summer". "I was talking metaphorically, I mean there is something wrong, major Goosehead is worried about something but is trying to hide that and the only officer I was able to contact is only very intrested in rising 5 AM$ in every occasion... I was very carfull talking with them... I also bought for our priest this very good bottle of blessed wine" whispering to the women "when he is drunk and snoring, I added a little sleep-powder, we can talk more openly..."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I heard that! (he says,wondering what Gigio said) drinks whole bottle with one go, collapses on floor

-----------------------------------------------------------

_Barrucadu takes a deep breath and intones:_

"!fabzry ugvj rrug rgvzF"  
(Smite thee with lemons!)

_Lemons rain out of the sky onto Mrs Wizzard, bruising her slightly._

"High priest, I would like a temple, oh, and good work with the head rotation while speaking to me. Good mystic gibberish all round. Also, find me more followers, 1 is hardly enough."

------------------------------------------------

"Well, now that the priest is sleeping like a ba-..er,..sleeping, I think that we should share the information that we've gathered." Mrs. Wizzard reaches her free hand into her pocket but pauses as she notices the stares that she was getting from the other three. She looks to her other hand and realizes that she'd absentmindedly broken one of the lemons in half and was now eating it. "What? I like lemons." Mrs. Wizzard once again reaches into her pocket and produces a piece of paper. "I wrote down the info that I got from the farmers, they said that last week they saw my brothers hiding out in their barn. Before I left they gave me this map of what they think might have been the brother's plans." She produces another roll of paper and hands it to Gigio.

--------------------------------------------------

Gigio hitted by the light shower of lemons noticed there is another guest in the room... a god... "Which kind of god is smiling, and also doing some faces, on us in this dark hour???"  
"He is Barrucadu, don't worry he is... 'obviously mighty' (is never a good policy to have enemies between the goods) but at the moment got only one follower (our sleeping priest) so is not very dangerous..." Mrs. Wizzard replays.  
"This is a big amount of informations you got from the farmers... and in a very short time...  
1) weren't they curious about your questions?  
2) Do you think their hypotesis on your brothers plans are reilable?  
3) The priest will have to reprint all his phamplets? "  
Gigio asks leafing throught the sheets of paper

----------------------------------------------------------------

"I don't think they were very suspicious. Farmers use a special lingo that they figure anyone who can fully understand it and speak it must be good. At this point I'd like to point out that my brothers were too stubborn to listen to our father when he tried to teach it to us." Mrs. Wizzard turns to Jeannie. "What have you found out from the dwarves?"

------------------------------------------------

"well, I went to the dwarf district but there was a fracas or quite possibly a ruckus going on so I decided I quite like my knee caps just where they are and came back here. I was planning to go back to the dwarves later but then I saw a couple of them drinking in the corner over there.

One of them turned out to be an old friend from Uberwald.He seemed...unsettled. When I told him why I was here he warned me to be careful how deep I dug, that there are some things best left uncovered. Then they left. There was no point in following them, he knows I'm a werewolf and would have covered his tracks...thats pretty much it."

Jeannie was still trying to figure out just what the hell Crys was doing here and why he was so worried...but theres not much she can do to find out just yet.

"Mrs Wizzard? Maybe if we go to the barn where your brothers were hiding I can see if the scent gives us any leads? ow!I don't think theres much point in pursuing the dwarves at the moment. What do you think?...ow! who's throwing those..Barracudu! stop that! I won't be converted into a follower just because you are hurling citrus fruits at me"

------------------------------------------------

"I think that I might be able to get us there quickly." Mrs. Wizzard reaches up and catches a lemon that was heading for her head. She chews on it thoughtfully, keeping a staright face, to her sour was something that happened to other people. She reaches into her cloak pocket and pulls out the small bag of vanishing powder. "Okay, everyone huddle together, Barrucadu, you get the priest. Yes, Jeannie, he has to come, too. Right. Hold on to your hats." Mrs. Wizzard throws down a handful of the powder and the group is covered in a purple smoke. When it clears they are all standing in the middle of the barn floor.

------------------------------------------------------

"wow! thats pretty useful stuff.  
ok then, I'll be right back"

Jeannie slips out of view of the others for a minute and returns in wolf form. She begins to sniff around...

--------------------------------------------------------------------

_I pick up the sleeping priest and, after a moments thought, put him in my pocket._

"OK, whats the plan?"

-----------------------------------------------

pokes head out of pocket  
Oh, Great God! Bestow upon me the Blessings of the Universal Lemon and aid me, strengthening my belief, so that I may o'ercome he looks pretty proud of the ,,o'ercome'' the hazardous pagan Evils which roam the earthly world and get out of this pocket.  
In wich, by the way something awefully smelly, disturbingly gooey, possibly green and hopefully dead is lying.

----------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard sighs happily. "You just don't get barns like this in Ankh-Morpork," she says. She in hales the barn air, which to some city people might seem suicidal. "It smells just like Papa did on Satuday nights." Mrs. Wizzard turns around and finds the priest struggling inside of the god's pocket. "Priest, yerself or I'll haveta magic you back," she warns. "And that goes the same for..er..you, as well, Barrucadu cough Mrs. Wizzard backs up nervously.

--------------------------------------

"?ganj ru frbq rebz gnuj ,grxpbc lybu rug av f'ru ,ab tavbt cbgf qyhbj gfrvec gnug ufvj V"  
(I wish that priest would stop going on, he's in the holy pocket, what more does he want?)

_The priests mouth gets filled with lemon rinds.  
I decide to let Mrs Wizzard get away with the, er, threat. It's been a long day._

---------------------------------------------------------

"While she is 'looking around' we can examine those drawing chalked on the floor, someone tried to rub them off, but something can be still seen..."

-------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard walks over to the drawings on the floor and examines them carefully. "They look to me..like a map of Ankh-Morpork. It seems like they marked the Gate, the Assassin's Guild, the Watch House, and the Patrician's Palace. We might need to look at this later." Mrs. Wizzard reaches into her cloak and pulls out what looks like a very early model of an iconograph. She rattles the box around. "Still alive in there?" she asks it. There was the sound of muffled cursing from inside the iconograph. "Okay, good." Mrs. Wizzard lines it up with the drawing and winds the crank on the side. After a moment, the picture slips out the bottom.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie finished her search and dissapears again, she comes back into the barn adjusting her shirt.

"ugh, sniffing around in a barn is not exactly my idea of fun, do you have any idea what it's like to get a nose full of rat droppings!? And that water trough does NOT have anything that even comes close to water in it!"

She sits down on some straw

"OK,I could smell your brothers Mrs Wizzard, but that was to be expected, I could also smell the chalk. It's a certain type found only on the downland. I could also smell dwarf..." Jeannie forces herself to continue "...well, _**A**_dwarf, my friend Chrys has been here too."

She raises an eyebrow at the God

"um,are you aware that your pocket is mumbling?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Oh, don't mind him. He's just suffocating the priest, is all."

-----------------------------------------------------

"Do you want to 'talk' with Chrys, or do you think it's better to find some other clues... we can try putting some hot embers under the major's feet..."

-------------------------------------

AH! hand pops out of Barrucadus pocket wave, wave I can supply those muffled. Have them here somewhere... Still got some left from the old Inquisitor 5-minute Torture Set...

------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard snaps her fingers and the priest appears in front of her holding a bag of hot embers. "Hey, that'll work." She takes the bag from the priest and snaps her fingers again. With a 'poof' the priest is back in Barrucadu's pocket.

-------------------------------------------

"It was just a metaphor, a figure of speech, a wossaname... not the real one... by the way Mrs. Wizzard I don't think it's very safe to carry about hot embers in a paper bag, one just landed on the brim of your vest..."

------------------------------------------------

"Hm? Oh. Excuse me one moment, please." Mrs. Wizzard walks out of the barn and out of sight. After a moment, there is a chorus of muffled screams and curses. A few seconds later, Mrs. Wizzard returns with a scorch mark on her clothing. "Okay, so, what now?" she asks with forced cheerfullness

----------------------------------------------

"If Jeannie don't want first speak with his friend Chrys we can pay a visit to the major, I'll be out of sight, as he already saw me as a semaphore technician, our priest can try to make him a beliver, I'm sure that the semirandomic stream of words from our holy friend and THIS modified phamplet will give something to ponder to the major."

----------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie seems lost in thought, Mrs Wizzard nudges her...

"hmmm? what? oh right, yes I think that Gigio is right, lets try the Mayor first."

--------------------------------------------------------

"Right, then," says Mrs. Wizzard, as she pulls out her powder again. Everyone huddles around. "Good day, eevryone. This is your captain. If it works, our destination is the Sto Lat Watch House. If not, we're most likely to end up in the pits of Hell." She throws down the powder before anyone can comment and, much to their relief, they appear outside of Sto Lat's Watch House.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We are not far from the major office/shop" talking to the priest "The major of Sto Lat doesn't belive in Barrucadu... Will you be able to convert him? Visit him and try to smithe him with the force of your reasons, this phamplet may help you in your holy task! Your god will obviously came with you, but to evaluate your faith he will not manifest himself"

------------------------------------------------

"Even if the priest dosn't convert the mayor we can still use him as a method of torture, after 5 minutes of listening to his preaching the mayor will confess to anything"

Gigio coughs meaningfully at Jeannie and gives her a look

She sighs

"oh ok, I'm sure the priest will do a wonderful job and will aid us in our quest greatly... mumble...especially if we suddenly feel the need for a refreshing shower of fruit.."

-----------------------------------------------

"Okay, so let's go in and give that guy a piece of our mind." Mrs. Wizzard adjusts her hat, pushes opens the doors, storms over to the sergeant behind the desk, and...smiles sweetly. "Hi, we'd like to talk to the major, please," she says in a cheerful voice.

--------------------------------------------

Gigio waits out of the major office, hoping that the priest will be able to speak without falling asleep or throwing up or changing again his god or jumping/dancing on the major's desk cursing everybody or something else equally terrible

-------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie leans against a wall watching the show, the amusing mix of bemusment, confusion and panic on the Mayors face as the Priest bombarded him with his religous fervour was some of the best entertainment she'd seen for a while, and she had seen the Lancre Stick and Bucket dance!

------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzrad stands open-mouthed in both shock and speechless amusement. She didn't think it should be allowed for priests to even _know_ words like that. As the pamphlets flew, she almost felt sorry for the major...almost. You just didn't get entertainment like this in Ankh-Morpork, not even when a tourist tried one of Dibbler's sausages inna bun...

------------------------------------------------

Gigio stands on tiptoe trying to see from the windows what's happening in the major office...  
It seems that the priest is having fun, the major absolutely not!

-------------------------------------------

...and thou shalt be smiten by Barrucadus fury, for The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee! stabs with pamphlets in air, accidently stuffing them into the mayors mouth All haileth the great Barrucaddu! Smiter of Pagans! Summoner of the Universal Lemon! of ! Breaker Of Hearts! Destroyer Of Worlds! Drinker Of Beer!  
Have at thee, unbeliever! pamphlets flying around

-------------------------------------------------------------

As Mrs.Wizzard watches all of this, the word 'straightjacket' begins to sound all the more inviting, as she hopes that the priest doesn't suddenly remember the bottle of holy water that is still residing inside of his robe pocket.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, thank you for reminding me, wielder of pagan magic wich really does not exist! Tally-ho Whatever that means! For Hecks Heart, I stab at thee, for Petes Sake i spit my bad breath at thee! The Universal Lemon shalt clenseth thy spirit

------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard is more shocked than ever now. She'd only mentioned the holy water in her head. "You can read my thoughts!?"  
----------------------------------------------------

The cleansing is complete, thou art now a believer! The Abides! solemn look

--------------------------------------

When the shouting and flying of pamphlets has finally let up, Mrs. Wizzard edges over to Jeannie and whispers, "Now, that he's converted, do you remember why were were converting him in the first place?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie whispers back "now you come to mention it, I'm not sure. but the Major will be so confuzzled now that he should answer anything we ask him!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, you, tell us everything you know about the Dun brothers." Dun was Mrs. Wizzard's maiden name. "And don't you try to scream, or I'll have the priest deliver the 18 hour sermon of Barrucaduism."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The major is in total confusion, his face is white like a very clean shirt, he his trying to talk obvioulsy scared by the threats proferred by Mrs Wizzard, but so scared that is not able to articulate a single word... he is probably by now waiting for the 'good' one, having seen the 'mad' and the 'bad'

----------------------------------------------------

Jake's ancestry and parentage is so convoluted that even he has trouble keeping it all straight in his mind. Of course, Jake does have a proper name but he never gives it out and ever since coming down from Uberwald he has called himself Jake, just Jake. Although he is a werewolf it is something he learnt quickly to keep quiet. Usually it's not something that you can just drop into the conversation, well not without nervous laughter and people touching their throats or going out and putting a scarf on. Of course that is if they're polite, if they're not then usually it's a yell and a swiftly flung pitch-fork or torch, there always seems to be so many more of the latter. He is not an old werewolf, in his late teens or early twenties, it's not always easy to tell, especially at certain times of the month. Unlike the only wolf in the City Watch, Jake has not been able to foreswear meat entirely and does take the odd chicken, mind you it's amazing what people throw out….

There was a groan, Jake was pretty sure it was him groaning but he tried it again just to make sure, yes definitely him. Little sparks of pain seemed to ignite as he tried to use a brain that would much rather lie there unthinking. Something wasn't right, he couldn't put his finger on it, but he was sure that given enough time he would manage to figure it out. It was blood that finally brought memory back like being smacked across the face by a piece of the Ankh. The sharp metallic scent of it hanging like a crimson cloud about him. He had just changed back and during the time it took his morphic field to settle down someone had come up behind him and….Keeping his eyes tightly shut he raised his hand gingerly to his head and felt the bloody lump, it had been a blow that would have killed any human.

Finally plucking up the courage he opened his eyes, he appeared to be lying quite naked in an alley. The cliché wasn't lost on him, but he was more concerned that the place didn't feel like Ankh-Morpork. Deciding it must just be his scattered senses he hauled himself up, using the wall for support. As he edged towards the mouth of the Alley a thought came to him and he looked down. It was never a good idea to go wandering around the streets naked. As his sorely abused brain scrabbled for an answer he stood hand pressed against the wall.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie stops leaning against the wall and decides she might aswell play the 'good cop'.

"You look like the sensible type Mayor,you might aswell just tell us what you know about the Dun brothers otherwise I really can't promise that I can convince the priest to withhold his sermon for much longer. Just look at his face, full of religous zeal that he is just longing to unleash." The mayors eyes grow wide in panic

"But I'm sure that once we have the information we are after the priest will feel a sudden calling to convert the rest of the heathen popuation and leave you in peace. So what do you say? Just tell us what we want to know about the Dun brothers eh?"

The Mayor nods in complete agreement

"Good man, I knew you looked like a quick thinker" Jeannie walks across the room and stops near the window   
"I'm sure that if you tell everything you know to the good lady, who is currently shining that candle in your eyes she'll have you untied and back to your mayoral duties and we can get on our way"

The mayor begins to tell Mrs Wizzard. Happy with the satisfaction of a job well done Jeannie leans back against the wall next to the open window.

As the breeze wafts through the opening it brings the scents of the town with it, noticably cabbage, cooking smells and other vegetable related aromas...but there was another scent that stood out from all the others.Under her skin Jeannie felt her fur wanting to grow and her wolf part growing stronger. As she fought her inner wolf, she was oblivious to what the Mayor was confessing  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Major finishes his confession and looks up at Mrs. Wizzard, who nods to herself.

"Right. Now, was that so hard?" she says as she unties him.

"It was from where I stood, yes," he says standing up.

"Well, we're grateful for your time." Then, Mrs. Wizzard, bad cop extrodinaire, slapped the Major across the face.

"Ow! What the bloody Hell was _that_ for?!"

"A warning!" she says defiantly.

"For _what?!_"

"...I don't know!" Her voice hadn't changed. She straightens up and walks to the door. "And this conversation never happened. 'Cause if it did, he'd have no reason to come back." She motions to the priest.

The Major's eyes widened again. "What conversation?" he quavered.

"Good man." She starts to follow the priest out but stops when she sees Jeannie. "Jeannie, are you okay?"

-------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't fair really, he'd been hit across the back of the head, woken up naked, not usually a problem for a werewolf, but usually if you decided to "go hairy" in the city, especially during daylight, it could be unpleasant. So his plight was made all the harder by a scent that seemed to electrify all his senses at once. It was a very nice smell and it seemed to be pushing all other thoughts out of his mind. The wolf smelt a female and wanted to take a closer look, Jake wanted to stay where he was and think things through. Chemistry though, is chemistry, Jake leapt. There was no chance he would have reached the window though and he collapsed in a heap of physical confusion on the ground. Dizziness washed over him and the wolf, for the moment, was silenced. He groaned again and thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to let his body heal before he moved, then again if you lay still too long you were likely to get carted away or chopped up. Clothes, he needed clothes and then everything would be alright, he wasn't sure how, but he was confident it would be.

------------------------------------------------

With the scent of the male filling her senses Jeannie looks up into the concerned face of Mrs Wizzard, she can feel the heat of the blush in her cheeks as she tries to quiet the inner wolf

"um, yes I'm fine...really.I'm fine. Just give me a minute ok?"

Jeannie gives Mrs Wizzard a pleading look, Mrs Wizzard nods but is obviously concerned as she leaves the room.

Jeannie had heard the noise at the window and looks into the alley. What she sees down there makes her blush even more.

As she had been in the awkward situation before of finding herself without a stitch to put on after a transformation she removes her long leather hooded cape, rolls it up and drops it into the alley.

Fighting the urge to follow her cape she forces herself to follow the others.  
-----------------------------------------------------

When it hit him, Jake had to blink several times. Here he had been desperate for some clothes and they had seemed to appear out of the sky. After a few more minutes of wishing he decided it must only be clothes and put the cloak on. The wolf inside him roiled in the overpowering scent of werewolf. Feeling slightly better he raised the hood and looked up at the window. He was in no state to go climbing walls; it was enough effort just staying upright. Jake didn't know who had smacked him on the back of the head, but if he ever found out….His thoughts trailed away in a hundred bloody imaginings before he forced it to snap back. He had some clothes, well a cloak, it was fantastic, but it was a start. Now he needed to find out where he was, this place didn't smell like Ankh-Morpork. How long had he been unconscious? Peering round the alley's entrance he saw a wizard exiting the building with the window and the scent of female werewolf in it. At least Jake assumed that she was a wizard, she had the pointing hat and robes, but women couldn't be wizards could they? Surely she was a witch? Jake blinked blearily and saw a second figure exiting the building. He could tell what she was despite the myriad of city scents that seemed to assault his nose. What he did next went against everything he had learnt from living in Ankh-Morpork. A city that would not just slam your nose in the door if you stuck it in other peoples business, but might bite it off and chew it, before spitting it out at you..

"Hello?"

He said to the pair that had just appeared, trying to go for the confident Alpha male, but it was hard to sound commanding in someone else's cloak, with a lump on your head and not knowing exactly where you were. As it was it sounded more like a drunken whimper.

--------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard turned towards the voice and saw its owner was a man who was wearing what looked like a familiar cloak. Hadn't Jea- She turned to Jeannie but her cloak wasn't there. Mrs. Wizzard quickly dismissed the thought and turned back to the man. He seemed different. As a wizard, she could feel the auras of living things. His felt not quite human, and yet not quite..not. Almost like Jeannie's. Mrs. Wizzard smiled and greeted him.

"Hallo, there. I-Oh, my. That's a nasty bump on yer head." She pulled out her medical bag. "Would you like me to put a bandage onnit?"

------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie was so distracted by the events indoors that she almost yelps when the man says "Hello"

He seems to be very unsteady on his feet, the reason for which becomes very apparent when they notice the huge wound on the back of his head

As Mrs Wizzard begins to patch up his injuries Jeannie automatically stands back at the sight of blood. Although this gave her a good chance to take a look at the newcomer the scent had told her most of it already. He looked to be about the same age as her, her cloak had solved his immediate problem but he looked like he could do with a hot meal among other things.

"Um, Mrs Wizzard?Thats a nasty wound on his head, and he seems disorientated. Perhaps we should bring him back to the Inn with us. He looks like he could use a meal and a rest, and I'm sure Gigio will have some clothes that will fit him?"

----------------------------------------------------------

Jake was a man, the cloak managing to do a good job of keeping him decent. His lower legs and bare feet were evident and covered in dirt. His hair was a deep black and currently matted to his head. The one that looked like a wizard hadn't given him a chance and was currently cleaning and bandaging up his head, he wondered if so much bandaging was really necessary. The smell of blood and the talk of food made his stomach growl; of course the smell of a female werewolf was also distracting him. Blinking he attempted to take command of a brain that seemed to be out to lunch. Wrestling with it though, he drew himself up, gathering the cloak around him and tried to scramble an air of command which he was sure he remembered his father used to do.

"Ladies, thank you for your help, but I am not some stray you happened to have picked up. If you'd be so kind as to tell me which way to the shades, I will get out of your hair."

He replayed the brief speech in his head, it sounded good, commanding, confident and in control, all in all an excellent job in the circumstances.

---------------------------------------------------

Gigio enter the alley and see there is a cloacked man with his companions, he unsheats his short sword and staying in the shadow as much as possible he waits for developments. The man is neither a watchman from Sto Lat nor one of the mayor personal bodyguards, but is "better to be safe than to lie down in the gutter with a knife inserted between your shoulderblade" (ancient AM saying)

-------------------------------------------

Jeannie and Mrs Wizzard exchange a look.

"the Shades?oh, I see! you think you're in Ankh Morpork! You better sit down again by the way, you're swaying...look, my names Jeannie, this is Mrs Wizzard. We are in Sto Lat, home of everything cabbagy.  
I don't know why you think this is Ankh Morpork but by the size of that lump it's a wonder you even know who you are...who are you by the way?"

-------------------------------------------------

"Sto Lat?"

His mind whirred and knew that indeed was not Ankh-Morpork. The smell of cabbage suddenly registered and Jake deflated slightly. I mean it came to something when you had gone for a wander, got hit over the head and then woke up in a different city to the one you started in. He tried to think about it logically, failed and tried again, failing again he opened his mouth to say something and closed it again.

"I'm…"

He paused and tried to separate himself from the wolf that appeared to very persuasively telling him that he should be trying to impress. He ignored it, it wasn't because he was trying but because his brain was so full of other things at the moment that he didn't have time to worry. His name seemed a slippery thing for example, but at last he grasped it.

"Jake"

He said proudly and then the question that he knew would get to the root of the problem came to him and he decided to blurt it out before other parts of him convinced him not to.

"How did I get to Sto Lat?"

-----------------------------------------------

Jeannie tries with great difficulty to ignore the inner wolf , and to look at the situation as a watch officer. This was made very difficult as she was right next to Jake and the pheromone and blood filled scent was trying to overwhelm her senses.

she forces herself to concentrate on the situation in hand, and makes a mental note to ask Mrs Wizzard if there any chicken farms around here, the wolf could do with a release later on. She would pay for the birds then find a nice quiet area...She takes control of herself and gets back to the here and now

"I really don't know how you got here Jake. The first I knew about your presence was when I was in the Mayors office just now.From the look of your injuries I'm guessing you were attacked, but if you were attacked in Ankh Morpork I'm not sure why they would bring you all the way to Sto Lat. Whats the last thing you remember before you found yourself here?"

--------------------------------------

He was beginning to remember a number of things, he remember grabbing a chicken, those are the sorts of things the wolf always remembered. There was an interesting scent he'd followed for a while before leaving his own message on a convenient lamppost. There had been a really good scratch in the middle of one of the bridges and then there had been the heading home. After all of that it started to get hazy, there had been the change back and a lot of uncertainty about where everything was. His teeth had itched, the feeling he always got around silver and then there had been a flash and darkness.

He realised then that Mrs Wizard and Jeannie were both standing watching him, waiting for him to say something. He reached up to scratch his head, it was a bad idea, although he managed to stay upright he swayed slightly as though being seen when you squint really hard at something and it starts to blur.

"I um…I remember heading home and then…someone must have hit me on the head and then I woke up here."

He looked at them hopefully as though they might be able to fill in the rest.

"I paid my fees, I mean even if it had been thieves they would have left a receipt."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie looks at Jake, who is still swaying slightly and makes a decision.

"OK Jake, first things first. Come back to the Inn, as our guest. Get some clean clothes and a hot meal, although I'd reccommend steering clear of the cabbage beer.Then maybe you will feel better and we can help you piece together how you ended up here."

Jake opens his mouth to protest but Jeannie intterupts...

"Or you can come back, get fed and clothed then go back to Ankh Morpork, it's up to you, but you are not going to get very far in this state! Either way you need clothes and food"

Jeannie smiles at him "Anyway thats a bloody good cape, I want it back at some point so you better find some trousers soon"

-------------------------------------------------------

Gigio feel that there is no danger now from the man in the alley, Jannie is chatting with him, there seems to be something between the two... maybe they know each other, being quite sure that everything it's OK gigio steps out of the shadows and goes towards the group to see what's happening and which news were gathered from the mayor

-------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie greets Gigio as he approaches, and he asks what information they obtained form the Mayor.

Jeannie looks embarrassed

"I'm not sure, I was...um...distracted. But Mrs Wizzard should be able to fill us in on what is going on with the Mayor, her powers of persuasion certainly seemed to work on him"

they look expectantly at Mrs Wizzard

-------------------------------------------------------

"Well, when I was cough politely asking the Major for informaton, he tod me that he had the brothers in their cells for three years. One day they tried to attack a guard and he decided enough was enough, and they were to be executed. But, the next day at the gallows, they made a break for it and headed towards the dwarf mines. When they got there, the dwarves claimed to have not seen them." Mrs. Wizzard takes a breath. "He said the dwarves looked as if they knew something, but their pick axes looked very sharp at the time."

-----------------------------------------------

Jake became aware of a third person joining the group and looked at him slightly unsteadily. He was aware that a conversation was taking place, but as it did not concern him he kept quiet, instead he took stock. He was standing in a borrowed cloak with a head of bandages which looked strangely like those things those Klatchians wore.

His brain took a little trip and while it was out the wolf jumped in, taking temporary control of his vocal cords.

"Food"

The word was accompanied by a growling stomach. Looking slightly abashed the returning Jake apologised.

"Sorry, I meant to say the idea of food sounds like a good one, I can't remember the last time I ate."

It was true, the last time he ate was pretty hazy.

------------------------------------------

Jeannie looks sympathetically at Jake, and gently pulls on his arm to steer him in right direction of the Inn.

As the group make their way back to the Lazy Farmer somthing of what Mrs Wizzard said finally filterd into Jeannies brain, she stops dead in her tracks

"Dwarves? Oh no, Chrys. What has the stupid little..."

Jeannie looks at Mrs Wizzard "I guess it was pretty conclusive when I smelt him at the barn, but now it's looking definite shakes her head sadly well, if he's involved then we better try and find him sigh...but first lets just get back to the Inn."

After a short walk the group arrive at the Inn and Jeannie orders them all a good hot meal, she joins them back at the table

----------------------------------------------------

When Jeannie touches him a strange shudder goes through him and he can feel dizziness threaten to overcome him. He tells himself to pull himself together and manages to put one foot in front of the other, the prospect of food being the driving force behind his movement, well that and Jeannie. Their conversation filters to him though and his contribution is..

"Dwarves…little buggers."

He was sure that there were such things as table manners, but at the moment they seemed like things that happened to other people. When the meat, bleeding and smelling like the nicest things he could remember, was put in front of him, he allowed himself to eat as though someone were about to take it away from him. As he felt his belly filling he thought he could feel the old him coming back. When he looked up he realised that the others around his table and some of the nearer diners, who had been sprayed with gravy were looking at him.

"Uh…great food."

-------------------------------------------

"wow, you weren't kidding when you said you were hungry!"

Even seeing him go for the meat the way a shark goes for a seal, she found herself drawn to him. She realised she had barely touched her own meal, and offerd it to Jake...the poor guy looked like he hadn't tasted food for a month.

She sat back and sipped on her beer, then turned to the others and asked them "ok then, how do we track a dwarf who has gone into hiding, knows I'm a wer...what I am, and will cover his tracks?"

----------------------------------------------------

He could have eaten her meal, really he could have, the wolf never knew when it was going to get its next meal from, but after eating, Jake was more in control, feeling better and now far more aware of the large throbbing pain of his head. What he needed was a drink, to dull the pain as it were. He asked the waitress, well the surly woman that seemed to be moving plates around, if she could bring hi ma bottle of the drink that came in the smallest glasses. A few minutes later she "placed" an unlabelled bottle that appeared to have a red viscous liquid, not so much floating as…well, just there. He sat there, with the bottle pointed at his glass, slowly, ever so slowly the liquid moved to the rim and began to fall into the glass.

"Why not ask another dwarf?"

Although perhaps not in Uberwald, Jake thought, they have long memories

"I'm sure there are dwarves around and they're bound to be able to help in a mine surely?"

He looked at the liquid in his glass and once he'd got up the courage he knocked it back.

"Hmmmmmmm!"

His entire body seemed to rigid, the pain in his head was forgotten and instead replaced by the heady feeling of weightlessness, then his body went limp and he sat, very relaxed in his chair holding the bottle over his glass again and waiting, he grinned at the liquid moving once more into the glass.

----------------------------------------------

Jeannie nods in agreement, the dwarf district should be settled again by now surely

"That's true, it couldn't hurt to ask them. Last time I went to the dwarf district there was some sort of riot going on, but it should be safe to head back there now.But, and I want to make this absolutely clear, the priest is to stay here! No amount of lemons will help us against a bunch of angry dwarves, plus it will probably be his pamphlets that makes them angry in the first place!"

She looks concerned at the bottle of red stuff that Jake is so obviously enjoying, but shrugs ah well, he's been through a lot, can't blame the man for wanting a drink

"Right I'm off to the dwarves, again.  
Is anyone coming with me?"

-----------------------------------------

His body seemed to zing, the world seemed brighter somehow, more alive, he felt he was already in wolf form. The pain of his head was forgotten, he stopped on the verge of his third shot and the idea of going wherever Jeanie went seemed to becoming better and better all the time. He stood up quickly, the cape fell, luckily only as far as his waist, revealing the lean, but very naked chest and back. Hauling the cape up again he stayed standing.

"Let's go and have a talk with a couple of dwarves."

It seemed that it must be the dwarf's fault he was here in Sto Lat. He wasn't clear how, but he was sure it was, they were all short arsed little buggers who went round in silver chain mail. He felt the adrenaline surge, the red stuff really was good. He felt like a, as his mother would call him, a proper werewolf.

--------------------------------------------------


	3. Chapter 3

Jeannie tried to pretend she hadn't noticed the cape falling, but her blushing face was a give away.

She nods gratefully to Jake

"OK then thankyou, but do you think that some clothes night be a good idea first?"

she was slightly concerned for Jake, he seemed different since he had drunk that stuff, but put it down to him feeling better after a meal and a drink

"Gigio, maybe you and Mrs Wizzard can find out what route the brothers took and see if there were any witnesses when the brothers escaped? Any leads right now would be a bonus...oh, and do you think you may have some spare clothing?"

..after a few minutes Gigio returns with a shirt and trousers, Jeannie had found a pair of boots in her pack from C.M.O.T Dibbler. She offers them to Jake

------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard looks Jake up and down. "Well, the shirt's a little baggy, but he looks normal enough to pass here." Resisting an urge to pat Jake on the head, she walks over to Gigio. "Shall we go, then, Gigio? I have a pretty good idea where they might've hid out after that farmer caught them in the barn." She and the guard strode out of the doorway. Mrs. Wizzard turns her head and, to Jeannie's horror, winks at her.

-----------------------------------------

When she sees Mrs Wizzard wink at her Jeannie blushes even more, she had hoped that the obvious chemistry between herself and Jake wasn't that...well...obvious. She reassures herself with the reminder that Mrs Wizzard, being of the magical persuasion, has special observational qualities and that the others probably hadn't noticed

Jeannie turns back to Jake, and forces herself to act normally despite the vicious blush that is assaulting her skin  
"Well, if you are ready? we should probably head over there now?"

----------------------------------------

Baggy as the shirt was, Jake was certainly glad to be in some clothes again. Strange it had never used to be a problem, now it seemed very important, that was city life he guessed. Jeanie's blush intensified her scent, but he managed to stop himself from throwing caution to the wind and grabbing her in an embrace. Cotton wool seemed to have surrounded his brain, the red stuff had been really excellent, so good infect that he barely noticed the wizard and the guard leave.

Trying to shake his mind into action, a painful process he took a step towards the exit, he felt surprisingly steady.

"Shall. We go?"

He asked and started leading the way down the street only to realise that he had no idea where he was going, but he of course, wouldn't admit that. He stopped and picked the first dwarf he saw, deciding that following the little beard with an axe, would eventually lead them to the dwarf district of the city.

"You know, there's got to be a law against smacking a guy over the head and dumping him in a city he doesn't know."

He wasn't sure, but the evidence of his surrounding seemed to suggest that is what had happened.

"Are you from the…old country?"

He asked in a whisper and with a slight mocking emphasis on "old country"

------------------------------

she replys in a low voice "yes, I am. My 'pack' she loads the word with scorn have been in a feud with the Baron and his for years, I'm not...I got sick of it and joined the watch so I'm not part of their precious pack anymore"

As she looks up into his eyes , her expression tells him that there is more to her tale, but that she dosn't want to say much more.

She asks him "Are you? you know, from _there_ too?"

----------------------------------------------------

A feud with the Baron's pack? Wow it seemed he was really good at picking fights with….well most people.

"Uh…yeah."

He clears his throat, suddenly aware of his family history.

"I left a while ago though, well, kicked out. I didn't know there was a watch, I thought the families ran things up there."

They had followed the dwarf and it seemed his hunch had been right. They seemed to be surrounded by lots of…uh…short bearded folk, saying men would have implied that Jake had any idea what gender each was, but that seemed to be something that only the dwarves knew and that was only after very long and awkward silences with a lot of beard twitching.

"Where's Mrs Wizard? What are doing her?"

---------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie begins to reply "Yeah, the families did run things, but then there was an incident with Ankh Morpork and The Barons Pack, huh what a surprise eh? Then Captain Tantony started the Uberwald watch..."

She became aware of the short yet noticably armed figures around them

OK so the dwarves weren't yelling and charging but they were exactly shaking them by the hand and inviting them back for a tankard of beer and some home-cooked dwarf bread either, which was probably just aswell given the concrete qualities of your average loaf of dwarf bread. There was a strange atmosphere of tension among them

Jeannie backed up towards Jake

"I'll fill you in on the news from 'home' later, right now I'm concerned that they are asking after Mrs Wizzard. If the dwarves _are_ involved with her brothers then this isnt a good sign, they have a tendency to try and kill her at every opportunity...any suggestions?"

-------------------------------------------------------

Jake wondered if Jeannie had ever tried eating dwarf bread, but decided that right now wasn't the time to be asking her those sorts of questions. He had noticed as well, that palpable taste of tension. Something nagged at him as well, a scent seemed very familiar, but he wasn't sure how it could be, he'd never been here before and yet his mind, still aching as it was, tried to make him aware of something.

He noticed a few of the dwarves in doorways casually leaning against them, almost too casually. He frowned and a part of him, it must have been his ancestor's genes, was enraged that these dwarves could be so openly defiant. Thankfully, and this time just barely, the rational side of him won out.

"You don't think they'd try something with us? I mean we're just two people walking through the city? It's just that I feel like they're looking at us and seeing trolls."

---------------------------------------------

Jeannie looks around and nods, she doesn't know why the dwarves seem to be so tense but she has a better chance of finding out if they get out of here in one piece

She talk to Jake in a low whisper

"I'm getting the same feeling. I think we should just carry on past them as normally as possible. If we run away, or run past them they will be suspicious and possibly give chase, if we get defensive they will be suspicious, either way we are out-numbered. Lets just act like we are a couple of people out for a perfectly innocent walk until we get past them. I don't know about you but I don't fancy the idea of trying to strike up a conversation with them just now."

Shivering at his touch Jeannie links her arm through Jakes as they engage in meaningless conversation and stroll through the street full of dwarves

-----------------------------------------------------------

Was there such a thing as an innocent stroll? Well he certainly hoped it looked like there was. The Uberwald werewolf within him berated him fro his cowardice and he wondered, not for the first time, if it wouldn't be so much easier to just be a man or a wolf, having both seemed to end up always for one vying for attention over the other.

"I thought you wanted to talk to one-"

There was an expulsion of air as his groin met with something metal and low to the ground. The helmet fell off of the dwarfs head and bounced once before rolling around in a circle. Jake tried to recover his composure, always difficult when a male is hit in that particular area. He wheezed, the dwarf looking impassively at the pair of them

-----------------------------------------------------

She looks at Jake struggling to regain his composure

"Yep, that would be why I decided against it"

She shrugs and decides it was worth a try, she addresses the dwarf who had 'walked into' Jake

"Hello, I'm a old friend of Chrys Hammersmith, could you tell me where to find him?"

The dwarf spits out a short sentence in Uberwaldean,

Jeannie :"well, theres no need to take that tone! Look, if Crhys isn't here and you guys won't tell me where he is then me and my friend here will just be on our way. We don't want any trouble"

As she turns around a dwarf stands very pointedly in her way, holding his axe in a 'not very aggresive but making darn sure you know I'm armed' kind of manner.

Jeannie tries to step around him, but the dwarf moves infront of her. Its obvious that leaving here was not going to be easy

Jeannie begins to give the dwarf a warning growl, then rememberd that there were several dozen other dwarves around her who were all waiting for an excuse to jump in.Suddenly they all seemed to be holding their weapons

It was nearing full moon, she had been battling with the wolf ever since Jake had arrived and now in the face of such danger, her morphic field won the battle

As she felt herself changing, unable to stop the wolf from emerging, the dwarves began to back off repulsed by the various shapes that were evident during the change and unsure as the best way to tackle a really, really angry werewolf

---------------------------------------------------------------

To be honest it hadn't been a great day so far and it didn't look like it was going to get any better. There was the being hit over the head, the waking up naked in an alley, being walked into by a dwarf and now he was surrounded by a lot of dwarves all of them holding very pointy things and all of them looking at the pair of them. The instinct to survive in people was always strong, but the instinct to survive in a werewolf is usually being screamed out by two brains inside. His arms itched but he tried to hold on, thinking was always harder in wolf.

He took a step back at seeing Jeannie in the various stages between a wolf and human, he knew there were stages of course, he had gone through them himself, but usually behind a bush with no one else watching. There seemed to be a collective intake of breath form the dwarves around him and an expanding circle around the two of them. The street went quiet, okay they were taken by surprise now, but how long would it last? His mind raced, but all he could think of was what was about to happen, someone would shout from the back and then there would be fighting and then the watch would arrive, see the two of them on the floor and if they had managed to survive, which seemed to Jake a million to one chance, then they'd be carted off to a cell somewhere

"Was that really a good idea?"

He whispered to the large wolf beside him from the corner of his mouth.

"You killed my brother you mangy bastards!"

Came the predictable shout from the back, there was a cheer and the mass of dwarves surged forwards.

"WAIT!"

To his surprise they did, although it appeared that it was only going to be a pause and a brief one at that.

"Uhh….We're just passing through?"

He said again hopefully and trying to look as innocent as possible

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll stay here with the priest, I'll try to put some order in what we know and send a report back to AM. If you are not back from the mines I'll warn Vimes and then try to find you

--------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie cursed herself, she normally had almost complete control over the wolf. Ah well, no point in changing back now...although a naked woman appearing infront of them would certainly cause a distraction. She knew she couldn't fight them all, but there was another advantage to the wolf shape...

When the dwarves stopped at Jakes shout, Jeannie took advantage of the momentary confusion,bunched her muscles and leapt over the circle of dwarves, landing gracefully on the other side with an open street behind her.

As the dwarves all watched her, she growled at them and began to back up, the dwarves advanced on her having temporaily forgotten about the still human looking Jake.

She waited until she was sure Jake was far enough away, and was no longer surrounded.  
Making sure she had the dwarves full attention, she kept backing up slowly then made a break for it down the empty street with the angry mob of dwarves chasing her, leaving Jake alone but completely in one piece

------------------------------------------------------------

It had all happened so quickly he was still standing there as the street cleared. His body had been so prepared to defend itself that it was taking a moment to adjust to the fact that no one was trying to stick him with pointy things. As he stood his mind replayed the last few seconds for his viewing pleasure and then his body took over, hurling him down a side street (there is always a side street when you need one), grabbed a tray of dwarf bread muffins and ran.

It was narrow and dark, but curved gently around, not knowing the city at all Jake was aware that he might get totally lost, but there was not a lot of alternatives. Eventually seeing the exit to a street he ran out and skidded to halt in the middle of it. Looking down he saw the place was empty, he could have sworn that he'd been going in the right direction. There was a cheer and Jake went cold, feeling tingles race up his spine, he turned slowly. Coming down the other end of the street was a raging mob of Dwarves and in front was Jeannie.

"Oh sh-"

His voice was drowned by the cheers and sound of clattering metal. Hurling the muffins with all his strength (not inconsiderable) he aimed for the front line of pursuers. Knowing that there was no time to see if it would work he shouted at Jeannie.

"This way!"

Before diving into the alley, she was tired, he could see that, but knew that a werewolf could run for a far distance, the only thing was so could dwarves as they were the ones that often got chased. He looked around wondering what he was supposed to do now. Look up he spied a window and scrabbled up. On the ledge he looked down.

"Jump!"

He nearly got a face full of female werewolf, but managed to squeeze back in time. So there they were both crouched on a small ledge, her smell was almost intoxicating, that and a mixture of adrenaline made his entire body tingle, he concentrated and settled himself.

"Okay, so coming here was not a great idea."

He whispered to the wolf

"You know, your Wizard friend would be REALLY useful right about now."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie lets out a soft bark in agreement, and wonders how they are going to get out of this.

Jeannie also had another problem, paws and claws were not the best shape for staying on this ledge, but her clothes were still lying on the cobbles back in the dwarf street. Also in wolf form, Jakes scent was completely intoxicating and hard to resist. She needed to change, she spoke in Wolf to Jake, asking him if he could give her his shirt and close his eyes.

After a moment, Jeannie was back in human form, wearing Jakes shirt, huddled next to him on a ledge after being chased by a very angry mob of dwarves. She was cursing herself for being so careless as to end up in this situation, and also wondering why the dwarves were acting so aggressively. She was also, admittedly, quite enjoying being so close to Jake...the watch officer in her scolded herself for not keeping her mind on the job in hand

She knew Mrs Wizzard had that very useful Transportation Powder which was exactly what they needed right now, but how could they get hold of her?

------------------------------------------------------

When he opened his eyes he saw her wrapped in the cloak he had borrowed from her and his shirt, of course boots and trousers were something she was still missing.

"Seems to me it would be a lot easier if there was a manual that taught you how to not rip your clothes, very useful, I'm sure the writer would make a lot of money."

He asked himself, not for the first time he knew, how he had managed to end up on a ledge, being chased by dwarves and having a semi naked werewolf in front of him. It just seemed that life was a great deal simpler when he was in Ank-Morpork.

"So we just wait here and hope that your wizard manages to find us? I should imagine that our little friends have gone to get the good silver and I don't think they're going to invite us round for tea."

Mind you he thought, being invited around for a dwarf tea might be worse. Although the dwarves hadn't seen him change they might think him a werewolf through association.

"Naked in an alley was easier than this."

-------------------------------------------

"No, I dont expect to just sit here and expect Mrs Wizzard to magically appear..."

she pauses for a moment, just incase...well stranger things have happend

"look, I think I can reach that next ledge then there is a low roof. if we stick to the rooftops we should be able to get away from here before our little friends come back"

She stands up, luckily the shirt is long enough to keep her decent and the cape certainly helps matters.

She begins to move carefully from ledge to ledge and jumps onto the flat roof. In the distance she can hear the clanging sound of the mob on the way back

She turns back to Jake "well, are you coming or are you going to wait for the fun and games when they come back?"

As she begins to move along the roof, she wonders how her companions are getting on?

----------------------------------------------------------

Jake followed her up, realising that praying had never worked before so it seemed pointless to start now. Standing on the flat roof he looked around at the ladders that connected each building and the chimney's, some of which were spewing very odd coloured smoke.

"Okay, now we're on a roof, safer perhaps, but not helping you with your enquiries."

He paused a moment and cleared his throat

"You know, when we were standing there and my life flashed before my eyes."

He didn't admit how short a flash it had been

"I thought that I smelt a very familiar smell, I could have sworn it was the same scent I smelt the night someone decided to clonk me over the head. It wasn't in the crowd though, the scent was too….uh tall, it wasn't a dwarf smell."

He looked at the sinking sun, he was pretty sure it wasn't a full moon just yet, well, quite sure. He decided not to mention anything in case it just added something else on top of their current situation. It seemed like his life for the past day had been a string of desperate acts

-----------------------------------------------------

"my enquiries aren't going to get very far if we end up in pieces, and those dwarves tend to have a fair bit of silver close to hand" 

she absentmindedly touches her neck, where the silver burns from her encounter with Carcer were still visible. That awful burning strangling sensation she shuddders it had shaken her more than she would admit

"come on, it's getting dark and the others might be back at the Inn by now.I'm guessing that who-ever attacked you didn't leave you any money so I'll book you a room for the night if you like?"

As she said it Jeannie realised she hadn't slept since before they'd left Anhk Morpork, she didn't relish the idea of closing her eyes, the images that flashed before her eyes were still too raw, too much pain...but her body was arguing, it needed rest

They begin to make their way through the rooftops

"So this smell, can you describe it? Human? something else?"

------------------------------------------------------------------

With Gigio staying with the priest, Mrs. Wizzard was on her own to investigate where her brothers had been hiding out after they fled that barn. This called for a bit of fun. She danced and sang along the dirt road, something she'd never have the courage to do in front of other people, as she reminisced.

Here was the field where she and her friends would play. And over there was the old barn where they had all of the harvest dances.

She pranced along until she came to her destination. The sight of it made her freeze as memories hit her like a boulder.

One by one they flashed in front of her eyes. Her friends, her parents, the fun, the sad, and the fire. This was the rubble of the only true home she'd had ever known.

The charred bricks and mounds were all over. As Mrs. Wizzard walked through them, her eyes glazed over with Memory. She hadn't seen this place since she was twelve. That was ten years ago. She never imagined that coming back would hurt so much. Mrs. Wizzard continued walking along the rubble until she found what she was looking for

----------------------------------------------------------

Jake felt a flush of irritation; he was a proud werewolf and the fact he had to rely on her charity annoyed him. Still, he needed somewhere to sleep so he accepted gratefully and they continued in silence, well not completely silent, there were grunts of effort, but no words were exchanged.

Jake was trying to think of what the smell reminded him off.

"It's hard to explain, it was like really strong and cheap cologne but it was obvious that it was trying to make another scent, I could only just get that one, it was a grey scent, I thought it could be another werewolf scent, but it wouldn't make sense if that was the case."

His forehead crinkles in frustration and he shakes his head.

"I can't think of anything, I just remember the smell and then blackness. I thought most of the people that didn't like me were left in Uberwald."

He shrugged and was grateful to see the roof of the in come into sight

---------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie could sense that his pride was a little bruised, but she was too tired to do do anything about it. Male pride affected every species she had ever met, although was admittedly stronger in were-wolves. She put it down to the Alpha Male thing.

She tried to think about the smell he had described but it didn't throw up any immediate clues.

She let out a sigh of relief as the Inn came into view. She was struggling from sheer exhaustion now, she hadn't slept properly for a very long time

They gently dropped down into the alley way next to the Inn and checked the street before walking out to the front of the building, true this wasn't technically necessary since they could both smell it was safe but still seemed like a sensible precaution given the recent homicidal nature of the towns shorter inhabitants

Jeannie enters the Inn ahead of Jake, pays the innkeeper for a room for him then sees Gigio sat in the corner waiting patiently with the priest.

She walks over to her companions, trying to ignore their puzzled expressions about her 'not very dressed' appearance and fills in Gigio on the events with the dwarves. She manages to mumble a enquiry as to if Mrs Wizzard had returned yet, then heads upstairs

Getting up the stairs was hard, her body was ready to collapse. She reaches her room, discards the cloak and crawls onto the bed. As she fell into a deep deep sleep, the dream began

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Gigio prepared a report for Vimes and updated it with the results of the trip of Jeannie and Jake to the dwarf community, than went to the semaphore tower to send it to AM.

As a afterthought he added an enquire about Jake, he was in AM after all and is always better to be safe, and asked about any news gathered from the jailed brothers.

Having done all that is strolling back to the inn when a hand grasps his leg and a knife is pressed in his kidneys region.

"We know you stay in the inn with the ladywolf, and you where seen talking toghter. You tell her that she better mind her own businnes and be back to where she come from, we got plenty of silver here, and we know how to use it... You know, arrowstips, spearheads, sworblade alloy and armor alloy, you don't need too much, we know when it is enought, we got experience"

After this Gigio is hitted from behind at the knee level first and then on the head, when able to stand again is alone in the dark alley, he rests five minutes and than move towards the inn

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Jake was certainly very glad at the comparative safety of the inn, at least the things that looked silver here, were actually just cheap tin. He could feel a growing unease though, there was something wrong, other than the fact of course that he appeared to be in a party that consisted of an Ankh-Morpork watchman. I realised the pull of the wolf was too strong now, it was night time, what was the worst that could happen? The words seemed to be accompanied by a voice saying "You could get hit on the head and wake up in a different city and not know how you got there." Of course this was always a distinct possibility but the wolf seemed to be drowning out rational thought. In the privacy of his room, he folded his clothes, put the window on the catch and changed.

The city was alive with smells, fair enough most of them seemed like cabbage, but here and there that was crossed with something else. Moving back to the alley where he had woken he sniffed around, attempting to detect a hint of the scent he had smelt in Ankh-Morpork. It was no good though, there was too much blood and it was making his head spin, he felt his hackles rise though, there was a wrong smell in the air, it was a grey smell, but he could not place it. Catching the wizards scent he tracked her through the streets, making sure he kept in the deeper shadows, fair enough it was night, but you could never be sure.

He had expected the trail to peter out a long while before he actually found the wizard so when he spotted the robed figure he was slightly surprised, still he decided it would not be a good idea to allow her to see him, no need to confirm what she already suspected. Mind you, humans often saw a dog, maybe a wolf and they all looked the same, he suppose it was the same for werewolves with humans, they all looked the same to him, it was only their scents that seemed to separate them. He skulked, if there was something a werewolf was good at it was skulking and this is what he did now, watching her curiously.

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Upstairs, oblivious to what has happend to Gigio, Jeannie sleeps the deep sleep of the exhausted

The Dream comes...The icy cold river, the body gently spinning as it floated face down towards the bank where she was searching. The splash as she wades into the water, the hot tight feeling in her stomach as she sees the dress she had seen so often, the moment when she turns the body over and recognises the familiar face made so unfamiliar in death, the knife wound, the lifeless staring eyes...she had thrown back her head and howled...

Jeannie awoke herself with her howl, so full of grief, so full of anger...so full of pain

As she sits up in the dark room, she shivers with the memories that won't leave her alone. She vows to herself , not for the first time, that she will catch the murderer, she has to, if not for her own sanity then for her sister, her poor little sister. Jeannie had felt her heart break as she had looked upon the body of her sibling...Jeannie trembles, but this time with rage. No! With the rage comes the Wolf, with the Wolf comes trouble...had to gut it down, had to stay focused. She shakes her head, trying to dislodge the dark thoughts...

she sits in the darkness, hoping her howl hadn't been heard, trying to pull herself together

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Among the rubble and debris was the old trapdoor to her home's cellar. Mrs. Wizzard opents the lid and steps down the stairs, closing it behind her.

Inside, she snapped her fingers and there was a small flame floating in her hand. This seemed to light the whole room. Sihlouettes of the old furniture danced across the walls as the light flickered in her palm.

In the dust were footprints that indicated her brothers were here for quite a while. Mrs. Wizzard stepped around them, as if in a maze, as she walked to the old dresser, upon which something familiar lay. Carefully, she picks up the picture frame and examines the photo. Tears beaded in the corners of Mrs. Wizzard's eyes as she stared at the photo of her and her parents. It was the night of the harvest dance twelve years ago. She was in her red dress and her parents were hugging her. Mrs. Wizzard hugged the photo and carefully placed it in a pocket inside of her robes.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked around the room again. It wasn't filled with weapons and maps like she had expected. No, she thought, my brothers aren't _that_ stupid. They'd made sure to clear out before anyone came down here.

Suddenly, something in the corner caught her eye. As she strode across the room it turned out to be a note. At the top of the note, it said: _To Mrs. Wizzard_

Mrs. Wizzard read the note, nearly screamed, and shoved it deep into her robes. She quickly turned, climbed the steps, and closed the lid behind her as she strode out into the night, back to the inn

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The wolf that was Jake watched as Mrs Wizard disappeared into the house and shut the door behind her. That was definitely one thing you missed as a wolf, thumbs, trying to open a flap without thumbs or indeed fingers was always tricky. He sat and scratched his ear vigorously and waited. When the wizard re-emerged she smelt of fright and worry, she seemed to be moving a great deal faster than when she went in and he watched as she disappeared.

Deciding that it would probably be far better to head back to the inn, he did so. Slinking through the streets once more until he came to the alley by the side of the inn. He leapt and landed on the ledge of his room. Nosing the window open he dropped lightly onto the floor and changed. Putting his clothes back on he washed his face and made his way downstairs. He saw the watchman sitting there and gave him, what he hoped was a disarming smile before sitting down and ordering a drink. He wondered if he had made it back before Mrs Wizard.

"Hello." He said to the guard looking at his drink

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Jeannie finally managed to compose herself, she got some fresh clothes out of her pack.She pulled on the white shirt and the brown leather trousers, she washed at the basin and ran a brush through her long hair.

Hoping that she looked better than she felt she took a few deep breaths and went downstairs.

She saw Jake and Gigio sat together at a table. Gigio looked very concerned when he saw her, she wonderd why?

Jeannie ordered some drinks, she certainly needed one (that dream, every time she slept the same damn dream) and walked over to the table.

She sat down with the two men, the powerful scent of Jake was strangely comforting, it must be the Male thing,she was shaken and she felt safe because she was with a powerful male. She found that ironic, she had never needed protecting in her life.

She drinks her beer in one go, looks at the slightly surprised Gigio and wonders how he got that bump on his head

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Mrs. Wizzard walks into the inn, orders a drink, and sits down with her friends, sipping her beer. She didn't say anything. She was vaguely aware of Gigio's strange bump, but for now she wrote that out of her universe. Her hands were hsaking slightly and her thoughts were racing as she stared out into space. She could feel herself trembling a bit

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Jeannie could sense Mrs Wizzards anxiety the moment she enterd the inn, it was even more apparent when she sat down at the table.

Jeannies own unease fades away in the concern for her friend

"Mrs Wizzard? what happened?"

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Mrs. Wizzard snaps back to reality.

"Huh, wha? Oh. Um. Nothing. I'm fine. Really." she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. She found the distraction she needed. "Gigio, what happened to you? How'd you get that bump?"

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Jeannie wasn't convinced, Mrs Wizzard was obviously shaken about something. 

Jeannie still felt out of sorts after the events of the day, especially the Dream and all the memories that had flooded her mind so she orderd a couple more beers, and gulped them down while she waited for Gigio to explain what had happend to him, he had looked fine before she went to bed

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Jake was catapulted back about a month or two ago, boxes had been flying everywhere and produce had bounced across the street as the drunken wolf had zigg-zagged through the them in order to get away from a number of watchman in hot pursuit. It had been alleged that he had, in a drunken state, got away with a few chickens and bitten the farmer that had tried stopping him. The farmer was fully recovered although it would appear that his chickens were still going missing, he had no re-collection how, it just seemed that he went to sleep certain times of the month and woke up with the taste of feathers in his mouth and another chicken gone.

They had caught him of course and put him into a cell, a cage, he had trembled the whole time. He wasn't usually a claustrophobic person, but to be locked in a cage, it had seemed like a very long time. He had been told he was lucky, that the farmer didn't know what was going on and was now attending…counselling? The details were a bit hazy, but he had dutifully avoided the sells since. So it came as a surprise when he noticed the lump on Gigo's head, well that now meant that fifty percent of their little group had knocks on the heads, it seemed a bad omen.

When Mrs Wizard entered he frowned, it was true she looked worried, but her scent was stronger, concern and perhaps slight fear. He leaned towards the wizard, unsure if he should do such a thing, I mean, she was a wizard.

"What did you find?"

He realised he had chosen his words badly; it seemed to suggest that he already knew she had found something, but it was only a little mistake

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Jeannie wonders why Jake is so sure Mrs Wizzard found something...but dismisses the thought.

Gigio looked dazed, and there was a certain scent on his clothing. Jeannie placed it in a second, it was an earthy smell tinged with the aroma of the flammable oil she had smelt on the coach and at the dwarf mines near Lancre

"Dwarves!! the little buggers! what did they do to you?"

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Mrs. Wizzard is a bit surprised by the question.

"How did you know I-"

"Dwarves!! The little Buggers! What did they do to you?"

Mrs. Wizzard turns to Gigio.

"Dwarves did that to you!? So, that means we've all been victims of attempted murder, so far. The priest is gonna have a field day with me for this but, thank Om we're all alive." Mrs. Wizzard pulls an ice pack out of her bag and places it on Gigio's bump. "This is gonna be freezing but it should help the swelling go down"

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Gigio tells his tale to the company and than goes on "You were able to upset a lot of people with your trip in the dwarf community, I'm lucky to have still my kneecaps in their places... they wern't sure of our connection, but you better stay out of there, now they are aware of you and they hinted they know how to kill you" Gigio sips his ale and goes on "If I was you I will move away from Sto Lat for a while, also Jake now is associated with you and it's in danger, they can be souspicious about me and Mrs. Wizzard too... but we can live with that. Anyway it's up to you, you can also stay in Sto Lat avoiding the dwarfs, but you can also be back to AM and search there for what the brothers did"

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Jake stays quiet, his gaze wondering around the inn common room, it was never a good idea to let your eyes linger on someone for too long, in case they decided that they really didn't like you staring at them, not to mention the fact that people became very nervous whenever he kept staring at their throat.. He stopped his musing when he thought he heard the words "trying to kill you." Always a phrase that you never wanted to hear around a table, or anywhere else for that matter. Gigo was talking, so the dwarves didn't like Jeannie and now they didn't like him either, that was just peachy, mind you the thought of leaving this cabbage infested place and going back to Ankh-Morpork sounded like a great idea. True Ankh-Morpork had…well it had a lot, but it was home, or as near as Jake cared, saying that, anywhere other than Uberwald would be acceptable he supposed.

"Well I think we should go back to Ankh-Morpork, at least things make sense there."

He realised the irony of the statement but he set is jaw in an expression of resolution and wouldn't take it back

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Jeannie sat back in her seat, staring into her beer

She could feel the rage boiling inside her. How dare the dwarves threaten her friends! How dare they!!

Chrys, he was the key to all this business with the dwarves she knew it. She had to find him.

She looks around at her companions, feeling terrible that they were in danger because of her.She knew that Jake wanted to return to Ankh Morpork anyway, and as far as she knew the others had nothing keeping them here any longer

"You are right Gigio, it's too dangerous for us to stay here anymore. You should all get on the next coach out of here"

She stood up quickly, knocking her chair over and went to her room, she knew she was acting out of character but she was so damn angry!

Well, she was going to have one last shot and finding that traitorous little sod Chrys

She found her emergency pouch which contained a few essentials such as clothes, fastened it around her neck and climbed out of the window.  
In the alley she changed.

In wolf form the scent of the city opened up before her...lets see, Gigio was attacked over there so there must be...aha!

Having located the dwarfish scent she followed it for a while until it split up in several directions. Oddly enough, one of the trails headed away from the dwarf district. She followed that one...

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"Jeannie will problably do something foolish in her frame of mind... can you do something to check on her Mrs. Wizzard?"

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Jake was not a hero, he had never claimed to be one and he certainly was not interested in being one, but he recognised the signs in Jeannie and got worried. Telling them to go back to Ankh-Morpork and then disappear off, usually that was accompanied by doing something stupid. What was more important that it usually meant the people around her would do something stupid and they would all get into far more trouble then if they had just stayed in the inn drinking and chatting. He stood up quickly, realising how far a determined 'Hero' could get.

"Uh…I think I'd better just, make sure…you know."

He said absently before starting up the stairs.

The door to Jeannie's room seemed to, magically unlock as he turned the handle, guess they didn't make them like they used to. He could smell her trail going out of the window he rolled his eyes and wondered why he had to be right . Getting up on the ledge he dropped down and began to race after the other wolf. The streets were nearly empty, well of people who cared to be seen in any case. He spotted her by accident, she was slowly down, and looking two directions, he was never going to catch her like this. With a fool hardiness he was sure he shouldn't have and using a tactic he had been 'taught' while with his 'family' he leapt and landed on Jeannie, whispering quickly that it was Jake.

"Are you crazy! You can't go around trying to be a hero, that sort of stuff will get you killed."

There was a clink in the darkness and Jake felt his entire body go rigid, clinks in the darkness were never a very good sign. Then, there was the sound of a match being struck, oh yeah, a clink and a match, this was REALLY bad

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Jeannie felt the weight of Jake land on her, she just about managed to stop herself from turning and snapping at him before she realised it was him. She was enveloped in his scent, it made her tingle but the anger was too strong

Letting out a series of growls, she spoke to him angrily..."what are you doing here!? who said anything about being a hero? This is watch business!"

She knew she was being slightly ungrateful, after all he hadn't had to follow her, but before she could apologise she heard the clink, and the match.

Feeling Jakes body freeze at the sound, she groaned inwardly, she would be really really glad when she left this place...even Ankh Morpork would be an improvement

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There was a thin trail of smoke from the cigar, the lit end giving Jake's eyes enough light to make out…the woman? It was certainly too tall to be a dwarf and it smelt female. Jake made to stand.

"I don't think you should do that, I don't know whether you're a werewolf or not but a silver tipped crossbow would do either way."

Jake's witty remarks seemed to dry up and he heard the wolf inside him growl in frustration. The silence stretched on and the wolf's frustration and irritation began to build eventually being released in some sarcastic comment, perhaps not the best idea.

"Okay, okay, so why do YOU want to point things at us? I mean I've been in this city for all of five minutes, what could I have POSSIBLY done to annoy so many people."

The woman didn't speak she appeared to be thinking of something, but the way she looked at the two of them Jake thought she might stare holes into each of them

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Jeannie felt a huge surge of relief when it became apparent that the noise had not come from a group of angry dwarves, the anger was burning its self up and she was beginning to think rationally again. Kicking herself for acting like a hot-headed rookie she took stock of the situation.

Considering the woman's reaction when Jake tried to stand up, Jeannie decided to remain where she was. She doubted the woman could speak wolF so she bided her time and waited for the conversation to continue

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"I'm hired to hunt special individuals, like the one you appear to be sitting on."

Jake thought faster than he had ever thought before, he supposed it was the silver . He squinted at the woman and then at the wolf he was sitting on.

"What? You think this is a werewolf?"

The was a long silence from the darkness, the cigar had been forgotten and was burning away slowly.

"Are you saying it's not?"

Jake hoped that he could be a good actor.

"She's not an IT she's my dog, I was letting her out before going to bed, she got away."

There was another long pause from the shadows as this news seemed to be absorbed, it was so unlikely, it was so improbably, it had to be true.

"She's pretty big for a dog and she looks more like a wolf."

Jake rolled his eyes, he was glad she couldn't smell his nerves.

"Please don't make me explain what happens when a daddy wolf and a mummy dog get together."

Of he was building up to patting Jeannie on the head, of course he was becoming more nervous of Jeannie than the woman with the crossbow, he just hoped she realised he was trying to save both of their lives

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Jeannie listened intently, and almost chuckled inside when she heard Jakes explanation.

The woman seemed to want some convincing though, so going against everything that the wolf was Jeannie licked Jakes hand hoping it looked convincing. She could smell his nerves but he managed not to even flinch as jaws capable of crushing a skull were a hairs breadth from his hand

She debated wether to roll on her back or not to add to the good doggie act, but decided against it, there are some levels she just wasn't prepared to stoop to

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He felt the warm lick and felt relief flood through him as he realised that Jeannie knew what he was trying to do. There continued to be a long silence from the shadows, there was a clink again and the woman spoke.

"Think quick."

She tossed something at him and he grabbed, it took all his self control not to drop the silver. He had experienced silver before, it had been part of his 'training' but the pain was something he had never been able to get used to, his entire body felt alive with it. He felt his palm bubbling, but he knew that his reaction to this toss was another test. He had to throw it back to her, but his entire arm felt liked it had, the wolf inside wanted to curl up whimpering and lick the wound. With all the strength he could muster he threw it back to her, in what he hoped was a casual manner.

"It's not clever to throw shiny things at people, they have a tendency of keeping them."

He could tell she was smiling when she spoke again.

"It's worthless, just a piece of tin."

Tin huh? His hand begged to differ, he'd never he'd not be able to walk on that paw for days.

"All things are valuable to the right people."

He thought he saw her shrug and lower the crossbow, she didn't say anything else, she turned and disappeared. When he was sure she was gone and out of earshot he grabbed his palm, in his good hand, squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip. Standing he realised his arm was limp.

"Come on, let's go back to the inn, you're not going to achieve anything by going after this dwarf now."

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After the woman had gone, Jeannie darted into a convienient alley and came back out buttoning up her shirt.

"I know I know, you're right. I'm not going to find him, but I was so sure that he could give me the leads I needed. Guess I was like a dog with a bone eh?"

She smiled and winked at him, with the rage cooled she felt much more like her usual self now.

They walked back toward the Inn

"That was silver wasn't it? let's see your hand...that looks pretty bad. Maybe Mrs Wizzard has something that will help it heal...or perhaps you'd like me to _lick_ it better"

she said with a playful nudge, and chuckled "daddy wolf and mummy dog...quick thinking there!"

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He felt pretty shaky, his entire arm felt like he'd stuck it into a flame, but he decided there would be no point in complaining about it, it would heal, werewolves were good at that.

"Well, I know how my oversize pet likes to lick, but I think I will just let it heal. I'm sure there is a bandage at the inn. I don't think we need to let anyone else know about my hand. What we do need to decide is what is our next move going to be? Do we not have any leads?"

He took rolled his hand in a pocket as they entered the common room and returned to Mrs Wizard and Gigio.

"Well that was an exciting little jaunt, I thought I best fetch her back. So, do you guys have a plan as to where to go from here?"

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"Well, I think we should all get some sleep. It's well past one in the morning." The rest gratefully agree and they head upstairs, each to their own room.

Mrs. Wizzard, now in her nightdress, tosses her robe onto the nearest chair. The note slips out and onto the floor. Picking it up, she reads it again, sighs, and puts it on top of her robes. She'd deal with it later. Grateful for a moment ot lie down, Mrs. Wizzard crashes onto the bed and falls asleep

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The last thing Jeannie wanted was to sleep again, but there would be no point in letting herself get exhausted. She had let her friends down enough recently as it was

She undressed and climbed in bed, after tossing and turning for a while she eventually drifted off to sleep

As always there was the dream, the body...the howl

As always the howl woke her, she sat up and sighed.

The dawn was breaking when she awoke so she knew she must have slept for a while. Everything seemed quiet so she assumed she hadn't woken anybody. She lay back on her bed and tried to gather her thoughts about what to do next. She rememeberd that Gigio had done a report back to Vimes, she made a mental note to ask him about it when everyone was up

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As they all went to their own rooms, their own concerns caught up with them. He knew that Mrs Wizard was troubled by that note, Jeannie had demonstrated tonight that she had her own demons and him? Well when he finally managed to lock the door and undress, never an easy task with only one hand, He sank to his knees and pressed his injured palm into his forehead, gritting his teeth and feeling tears trickling down his face, Ghods it hurt. He allowed the wolf to overtake him and colour seemed to drain from the world replaced by the colours of the nose. He crept underneath the bed and began licking his wound, until at last, the throbbing eased and he managed to sleep.

Dawn was a watery haze through the smell of cabbage, he decided that closing the window would probably mean fresher air, so he did so and plunged his hand into the cold water, it stung, but he knew that it was healing. Dressing still took twice as long, luckily when the knock came he was just doing up his shirt.

"Who is it?"

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"it's me"

Jeannie looked up and down the hall, all was quiet.

she had deliberated long and hard about doing this, but wanted to talk to him. Looking at the piece of cloth she held in her hand she blinked away a tear. It couldn't hurt to ask him surely?

"um, can I come in?"

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Mrs. Wizzard sat up to the sunlight shining into her eyes. She experienced those sweet first few moments of conciousness where you completely forgot about everything that had happened the previous day. Then her inner insticnts kicked in and she looked around to make sure no one was ready to mug/kill her.

When memory served, she looked over st the note, hoping that last night was just a dream. Even from the bed Mrs. Wizzard could make out the message.

_'Your brothers know about your little friends. They're not at all happy in prison. We'll be watching'_

She groaned and sat back again. Her head was hurting

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He took the damp cloth that had sat next to the wash bowl and wrapped around his hand.

"Just a second" he said as he padded bare foot over to the door and fiddle with his one hand on against the lock, eventually opening it.

He held the door open, admitting her inside he made a show of being sleepy and closed the door behind her.

"You're up early, I thought after last night you would like to have had a little bit of a lie in. Mind you, I guess it's good that you're here, I've been thinking. I followed Mrs Wizard last night, she went to a ruined house and when she came out, she was running, I think it is because of whatever she found in the house."

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"a lie-in? yeah well, sleep dosn't come easy to me at the moment."

Her face clouds over for a second, then is a picture of confusion

"Mrs Wizzard went to a house, and you were following her? Do I want to know why? You're lucky she didn't notice, she's very tuned in to stuff like that you know..."

Jeannie trails off into deep thought, as a watch officer it came naturally to her to look at the bigger picture

"From what she has told me Mrs Wizzard grew up here, she had a difficult childhood with her brothers. Her parents were killed in a house fire...I'm guessing that if she was visiting a ruined house then it must have been the remains of her old family home. She obviously found something that upset her, possibly something left behind by her brothers, they probably hid out there during their time in this area..."

Walking across the room, she carrys on voicing her thoughts "she was very frightend when she came back last night, I've only ever seen her like that around her brothers, I think we need to know what she found."

Jeannis sits on the end of the bed, she needed to get her reason for coming to his room over and done with.

"Jake, I came here to ask you...it's probably a waste of your time but I would appreciate it if you would humour me." looking down at the cloth in her hands she felt the sting of grief again

"This cloth was found in the hands of...someone. She was murderd. From the scent I got from it I was able to get this far after the man who did it but now I've lost the trail. It's probably a long shot but I was wondering if you would mind...I mean, you might have smelt it before or you might do in the future in which case I can pick up the trail again."

As she looks up at him her eyes are rimmed with tears "Sorry, but this scent is the only clue I have and you have the same sense of smell as me, and I just hoped..."

realising she was rambling her voice tailed off as she held out the piece of cloth

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It was funny how things came in circles, he was sure he'd been told that history loved it, it seemed in this case that it did anyway. Jake knew the scent on the cloth before he even raised it to his nose. His mind had gone racing back to a day when the ice had been melting and he was younger, a werewolf trying to fit in, it sounded so embarrassing. They had been hunting and it had turned nasty. They had chased down a lone werewolf who had wandered a little to near their lands and Jake had watched as the pack had drowned the wolf and then, just for good measure put a dagger between her ribs. His mind suddenly raced and he panicked, why was she asking about this scent? Did she have suspicions who he was? And then he did something he had gotten very good at, he turned and shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, I don't recognise it."

Another thing his family had made him, a good liar, but perhaps all werewolves needed to be like that.

"Perhaps we should meet up with other two to see what our next move is."

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A mnigraine was setting in. Mrs. Wizzard pinched the bridge of her nose ans she tried to sort her thoughts. So, now she knew that her brothers had connections on the outside and had gotten one of their little pawns to leave that note. Who knows how many people they've got spying on her and leaving her messages where they somehow _know_ she's heading.

Well, she was never going to get anywhere while she was this drowsy. It'd been a rough few days. She'd been half asleep half of yesterday. It was throwing her senses off. She needed some coffee.

Mrs. Wizzard got dressed, adjusted her hat, and headed downstairs. The note was still on the nightstand...

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Her shoulders sagged as he handed the cloth back, she had known it was a long shot but had really hoped...

Blinking back tears, she nodded

"The others should be up soon, I'm going to head downstairs and wait for them" was what she tried to say, but she was so choked up it came out as a hoarse mumble.

Trying not to look at him she got up walked to the door

"thanks anyway"

Leaving the room she fought back the huge sobs that wanted to burst out of her as the grief stabbed her in the heart over and over again.  
She had lost the trail, she had lost the only lead she had on her sisters murderer, she had no idea how to find it again.

Standing still for a few minutes,she composed herself. she went back to her room, carefully packed the cloth away, washed her face with cold water and went downstairs.

She saw Mrs Wizzard enjoying some coffee and went to join her

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Yay! Staggers noisily downstairs to Jeannie and Mrs. Wizz wrinkle forehead, peer at coffee gasp Have at thee, fiend! hits coffee mugs, sending them off flying, after a few innefectual flails Be basnished from the lands of ye faithfull, hellspawn! produces sponge from somewhere in robe and feverishly wipes coffee off walls Hm! smug as Mrs Wizz and Jeannie stare, he squeezes the contents of the sponge into a new cup, and sits down beside them. So, you were saying? takes a sip happily

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"Um..right." Mrs. Wizzard looks helplessly at the priest. Well, I've seen stranger things, she thinks to herself. "So, Jeannie," she says, trying to pull yhe stares of the rest of the Inn away from them. "How was your night?"

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Looking gobsmacked at the priest,  
Jeannie replys

"It was the same as always sigh , but thanks for asking. How about you? you seemed very anxious when you came back from the...erm, wherever you went?"

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh..um..I..got stung by a bee..? Yes, I'm terribly allergic to bees. I get all jittery.." Mrs. Wizzard knew this probaly would not pass, but it was the best she could think of on the spot

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sips coffe smiling stupidly. sip...sip..sip.sip.sip.sipsipsip. Stares into empty mug. Starts to tremor. Smiles and nods to Mrs Wizz and Jeannie, whenever one of them says something

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie gives Mrs Wizzard a look, but can hardly tell her she knows where she went. Jeannie wasn't afraid of much but her survival instinct told her loud and clear that annoying a wizard was not top of the list of "Things to do if you want to see Tomorrow in the same shape you are Today"

"A bee? ok then. Has anyone seen Gigio this morning? I know he sent a report back to Vimes, I'm wondering if he's heard anything back yet?"

Jeannie orders more coffee, quickly picking up the cup before the priest can attack it

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, I perceive that you are lying! points a trembling finger towards Mrs. Wizz, still smiling like an idiot

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie chokes on her coffee at the priests exclamation

trying not to expel it from her nose she watches Mrs Wizzards reaction

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

stands up, walks slowly, but trembling towards the frightened Mrs Wizz. Breakes into run and lunges right... past Mrs Wizz towards a loaf of stale bread. Grabs it, falls on floor, and struggles with the bread  
Liar! The Wrath of Barrucadu is upon you! looks at the other two Beverages! I need Beverages! turns to bread again Thou wilt soon be soaked by Barrucadus beverages and torn into pieces by his might!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

leans across to Mrs Wizzard and whispers

"any chance you have any dried frog pills with you!?"

---------------------------------------------------------

Relieved that the priest was accusing a loaf of bread instead of her, Mrs. Wizzard stands up, and walks out of the door. Moments later, she returns with a bucket of ice water which she throws onto the priest and the, by now, very frightened loaf of bread.

"Break it up ladies, we've all had a rough night."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Jake sat on his bed for a long while, the smell of his father's scent still strong in his nostrils. The scene was all too clear to him. From Jeanie's reaction he knew that whoever it had been had meant something to her and he had lied, well why not? He didn't oh her anything? Looking round the room he knew that was a lie. He tightened the bandage, he was pretty sure Mrs Wizard suspected something about him, but no need to tell them where he got the burn from.

Wandering downstairs he saw Mrs Wizard holding a bucket and on the floor a figure he'd not seen before, soaked to the skin clutching a loaf of bread. He could ask, he KNOWS he could ask, but instead decides to get a cup of coffee.

He picked up the coffee with his good hand and looked at the figure on the floor and then turned to Mrs Wizard.

"Are you feeling okay today? Have we decided on a next move?"

-------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard looks up at the sound of Jake's voice. She looks at the bucket in her hand and quickly drops it.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm not sure what we're doing next, though. I was going to ask Gigio, but he doesn't seem to have woken up, yet"

----------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie can't help but laugh at the Priest, oh boy, after the past few hours it felt good to laugh!

She wonders if she should send a report back to Captain Tantony, she decides against it. What could she say? 'Traveled long way, nearly been killed a few times, met another werewolf, nearly got him killed, oh and nearly got friends killed by irate dawrves'...hardly a informative report. Deciding to wait until she has something more conclusive to tell the Captain, she looks up at the sound of Jakes voice.

She had smelt him before she saw him of course, she could probably smell that powerful scent even in the slaughter house district in Ankh Morpork. Allowing herself to enjoy the delicious tingle it always gave her at first, she gave him a little nod in greeting

"Well, we are all here apart from Gigio. Maybe I should go and knock on his door, we need to decide on a course of action"

She made her way up to the rooms, accidently knocking on the wrong door before realising her mistake. The latch was obviously faulty as the door swung open slightly at her touch, as she went to close the door something caught her attention, werewolves also have extremely good vision and from here she could clearly see and read the note on Mrs Wizzards nightstand. Closing the door quickly she stood in the hallway trying to digest this new information...

--------------------------------------------------------

Taking a sip of the coffee he decided that he didn't need to drink it THAT much and pushed it away, carefully, in case it began eating through the table. Still not allowing himself to comment on the soaking priest clutching a shredded loaf he spoke again.

"Well, as I'm still not that sure what this is all about, I'm not really much help in deciding our next move, although I would say that I'm anxious to get back to Ankh-Morpork, but that would be a lie. I would however prefer it to…"

He looks around the inn and decides that lowering his voice is a good idea

"A place where the smell of cabbages will be ingrained in my skin for weeks"

---------------------------------------------------------

stalks rooms in search of paper and, guess what? he finds Mrs Wizzs note. It is turned with the blank side upwards, so the priests starts scribbling some holy verses on it:  
'And Barrucaddu shalt smite the etc Oh great Barrucadu, when wilt thou return from thy holy vacation? The numbers of faithfuls are falling and thou must come down from Cori Celesti and smite etc etc.  
Yrs faithfully, Priest.'  
He stares at the paper a bit, and adds:  
'P.S.: Thy wisdom is eternal.'  
satisfied he folds tthe paper up, in order to commence with the rite of wossname, so that the message may reach any deity wich might be paying attention at the moment, but notices the writing. He reads it with an impassive face and goes downstairs to have a cup of coffee and see if he can understand what the hell it meant

----------------------------------------------------------------

Hearing the priest coming along the rooms, Jeannie snaps out of her deliberations and walks quickly back downstairs.

She arrives in time to hear Jake talking about going back to Ankh Morpork.

Difficult as it was for her to leave here without becoming any closer to her goal, she knew they couldn't stay here much longer if they wanted to leave alive

"I agree with Jake, this town is getting too dangerous and we have no more leads here.I think that heading back to the city would be a good idea, maybe another little chat with the brothers will help us, or maybe Vimes has some new information?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake said nothing when they mentioned the watch, he would as soon not have anything to do with them, but he supposed that was true of most of the city, although Vimes was one of the cleverer watchmen and it was a great deal harder to get anything past him. Some of the others just seemed to be, good but diffusion, it sort of filtered down from others in it.

Jake was slightly concerned that the report Gigio was going to receive would contain a few of his, not worth mentioning, misdemeanours.

"Perhaps there are dwarves in Ankh that can help us as well, and maybe they will be more helpful, as opposed to staring at us coldly and then giving chase"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Still debating on whether anyone she ever met was sane, Mrs. Wizzard realises that she's forgotten something.

"Oh, I'll be right back. I left my medical bag upstairs."

When she enters the room she sees her bag at the foot of the bed.

"There it is." Mrs. Wizzard picks it up and sees the note, now folded up, on the nightstand.

"Oh, bugger! I left that thing in here, too?" She unfolds it and sees someone's been scribbling on the other side.

"...shall smite thee...Oh, good, it was only the priest"

Relieved, Mrs. Wizzard grabs her bag and makes for the door, absently tossing the paper into the waste bin on her way out.

When she arrives downstairs, the priest seems to be in deep thought. You know, I wonder if he's gone mad or if he's just really _really_ religious, she thinks to herself

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie nods at Jakes suggestion

"yes, although I think we'll start with the dwarves who are in the watch, I'm pretty sure that none of them will feel like throwing any silver in my direction"

She wouldn't voice it out loud but the bounty hunter that her and Jake had encountered was bothering her...the dwarves tended to be more hands on, imagining them sending a professional after her just didn't add up, so that left the question...who sent her? Jeannie hadn't been in Ankh Morpork long enough to make enemies, and although she had left a few back home she doubted that they would go to all this trouble just to kill her. Playing with their prey was much more their style

As Mrs Wizzard went to collect her things, Jeannie got up to go and fetch her pack

she cast a sideways glance towards Jake on her way past him, she could have sworn there had been just a glimmer of unease when she mentioned Vimes

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake would have gone upstairs to get his things sorted, but his things happened to be in Ank-Morpork, well that's where he had left them at least, he still wasn't sure how long he had been asleep and whether his stuff had been thrown into the street and a new tenant accepted due to late rent, although he doubted it, his stuff had probably been taken and the room burned to the ground.

Surprisingly enough he didn't find the thought upsetting in the least. Instead he waited patiently for everyone to get there stuff sorted.

"How are we getting back?" he asked

He could think of a way, but unfortunately only two of them could have run the distance

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie sits back down having got her pack and all the 'quality' merchandise that was going to go straight back to Dibbler along with a few choice words

"the same way we got here...well, most of us. There is a mid-day coach run to Ankh Morpork, we might aswell go on it. No sense in hanging about.

I can report back to Vimes once we get back"

yep, it was barely noticable but there was the faintest reaction on Jakes face when the Watch was mentioned. She wonderd again about Gigios report, he was a watch officer, he knew Jake was from Ankh Morpork, surely he would have asked...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake had made the decision, these people had been kind to him, but he had returned the favour, at least to Jeannie, by stopping that woman filling her with a silver tipped crossbow bolt. Once they were in Ankh-Morpork, he would make himself scarce; after all he was not really anything to do with this group. He felt slightly cowardly at the thought of doing it, but better that then…well just better that.

"Stupid question perhaps, but how long will it take?"

The idea of being stuck on a coach with a load of people he didn't know (present company accepted of course) did not fill him full of joy. He wanted to get away from the smell of cabbage not be put into a small box with a load of people from the same city.

A cold chill came over him then, small box, a coach? He had never been very good at small enclosed spaces, but a coach was pretty small and packed with other people? Well at least the coaches he had seen were, mind you, many of the vegetable sellers had open coaches that would be okay.

"Uh…What sort of a coach are we talking about?"

He said, with what he thought incredible calmness

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"hmmm? oh the normal kind, four wheels, 2 doors, plenty of luggage space on the roof..why?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake didn't like this at all he would MUCH rather run there, in fact perhaps that was what he should do, mind you it might throw up questions with Mrs Wizard, Gigio and the strange priest. 

"I…uh…I'm….not great at coaches."

He said finally, he tired to imagine himself, agitated in a small box full of lots of people, all of whom with the sound of pounding hearts…it would be fine if it only smelt of cabbages, blood might just tip the scales.

"I usually…find other means of transport"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie leans over and whispers "oh, right, I think I get what you mean. It's pretty common with wer...with people like us. It's not a very long journey, do you think you could cope with it?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie and Jake disappearing into whispers can't be a great sign, he feels like a conspirator and perhaps merely makes the fact of what he is all the more obvious to someone who suspects.

"I'm not sure, I could try, I suppose it might turn out ot be an exciting journey if I can't."

He said pointedly but still whispering

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie found herself feeling more and more annoyed, she had tried to help the guy at every turn since they met. She should have known better really, her mother had always told her never to spare a thought for those who couldn't provide for themselves...she had always scorned such teachings but just for an instance the rage made it seem credible

"ok, well if you want to run back to the city then be my guest!but you owe me for the room!"

She gets up and walk towards the counter, after ordering breakfast she sits herself back down and calmly sets about consuming her meal.

she casts a thoughtful glance towards the priest, who seemed to be unusually deep in thought

------------------------------------------------------------

Jake knew that his claustrophobia had made him speak out of turn, but he didn't care he was angry now, the idea of having to admit to such a fear bad enough but to have someone feel pity was even worse.

"You know you're right, when you get back to Ankh I'll send an envelope to the watch, I'm sure they'll be able to find you."

With that he stood and without a word to Mrs Wizard, Gigio or the priest walked out of the inn. He was a werewolf after all, who the hell laws going to mess with a pissed of werewolf? Not to mention the fact he'd been brought up in Uberwald a far more inhospitable place than the journey from Sto Lat to Ankh-Morpork

--------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard's expression didn't change as Jake stormed off and the tension from Jeannie grew. Silently, she pulled out a flask of whiskey from her robes, took a few sips, and put it away.

She'd had some phobias that she'd had to deal with in the past. Claustrophobia was an on and off one. She didn't mind enclosed spaces, depending where they _were._ A small room was fine. Even a small closet. A small box or sack, however, was a bit unnerving. But, her claustrophobia wasn't nearly as bad as her fear of needles and pointy objects. This resulted in many years of not going to the doctor.

Mrs. Wizzard didn't bother to order breakfast. In the past 24 hours she'd left her home, returned to her old home, returned to the cellar of her old house, found a note that she was being spyed on around the clock, and had dealt with a mad priest. Hunger was the last thing on her mind at the moment.

As the alcohol set in her stomach, she sat back in her chair and relaxed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Growing up in her Mothers merciless clan had taught her many things, fortunatly leaving the clan and joining the watch had taught her many more, such as self-control.True this hadn't been very self evident in the past 24 hours but most of the time the rage was overcome.

Instead of acting on her anger Jeannie sat and focused on calming the rage, her companions didn't deserve to have to deal with an angry werewolf.

Once the rage had cooled slightly Jeannie stood up,

"I'm going to go and book our seats on the coach.

I'll meet you back here in about half an hour"

She headed first to the Clacks tower, and sent a report to Uberwald, letting the Captain know that she was heading back to Ankh Morpork, she included information about the hostile dwarves...after all some of them were Uberwaldean.She also mentioned the bounty hunter

Having sent her report she wanderd towards the Coach Yard, deep in thought

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surprisingly it didn't take him long to get to the outskirts of the city. Once outside he somehow managed to find a small clump of trees amidst all the cabbage fields and took of his cloak and began putting his hsoes into it. One thing you certianly learnt about as a werewolf, was how to carry clothing as a wolf, fair enough it's not easy to cary a lot, but he didn't have a great deal at the moment and it would probably be good to have some clothes before wandering into the city.

It was easier this way, he was used to covering a lot of distance on his own and he usually managed to find something to eat. It was probably safer as well, what would happen if he was in the coach and he couldn't control himself? He shuddered and lifted his shirt over his head placing it in the cloak

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gigio sits at the same table as Mrs Wizzard with a loaded plate and see there is also the semi-catatonic priest... "Good morinig! I rised early and went to the semaphore tower before coming for breakfast, I have some news from Vimes... The brothers are strangely smiling and that is putting Vimes on edge, there is something afoot... I also enquired about our new friend Jake, not nice of me, but you know 'better be sure than trodded on by a group of enraged elephants' Vimes says he is a fellow that has already been in our cellar, often for a fistfight in some taverns, Angua placed him in the 'werewolf in the city list', that's can be a surpise but we had some hints isn't it? On the list got only two stars, that means he never really did great damages to people in AM, almost a good-guy if he dosen't drink to much, Vimes says doesn't trust him as anybody else"  
Mrs. Wizzard relates to Gigio of the decision to go back to AM  
"I think it's better if I stay here for a while, we will keep in touch, I think I'm not in danger here, I have been more carefull about my cover than Jeannie and I am only loosely related to her by the dwarfs"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Still mulling over the events of the past few days and trying to make sense of it all, Jeannie wandered into the Coach Yard.

She spied the coach driver having a quick smoke by the stables and walked over to enquire about the midday coach run

She went back to the Inn to collect her things and tell the others that they had seats on the coach. A whiff of cigar smoke made her look around hurriedly, the last time she had smelt it she had found a silver tipped cross bow aimed in her direction, but it was just a gentleman enjoying a Pantella.

Feeling a huge sense of relief to be leaving this place, she arrived back at the Inn and went inside.

She over hears the conversation with Gigio as she approaches

with a slightly embarrassed smile she sits down with them

"Gigio, you're right.My personal issues got in the way, I was careless. It's inexcusable for a watch officer to act so recklessly. Please accept my apologies and my assurances that I will not be so careless in the future

I'm pretty sure once I've gone you will be safe here. We'll communicate regularly by clacks"

Jeannie sat back, she wasn't surprised that Jake was known to the watch.After the way he had followed Mrs Wizzard she had become slightly suspicious. She wanted to trust him, after all he had saved her from the bounty hunter, but there were nagging doubts about just how solid that trust was.

she shrugged to herself, well it wasn't her problem now anyway, he was probably well on his way to Ankh Morpork by now

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Priest was very quiet in the last time, occasionally glancing at Mrs Wizz, muttering some religious phrass half-heartedly, sighing, and messing around thoughtfully with his multi-functional religious pendant. (wich can easily be folded into the most popular religious symbols or can even be used to create new religious symbols of your own design. Also includes a pocket-knife and a foldable ((how the hell do you spell that?)) mug, useful for drinking various beverages out of. Only 5 AMDollars, buy three and get a discount! Treacle Street No15, open between 6am and 9pm. Order now!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jake knew it could be dangerous making this journey during the day, especially until he could get to better cover, but his anger and his desire to get home and get drunk was too strong to ignore. He picked up his bundle between his teeth, peaked out and moved with a ghostly efficiency of movement, but certainly not doing it slowly. He had a general idea which way he was going and his wolf sense of direction would certainly help, he was no charity case and it annoyed him that he had allowed himself to be one. It was only as his thoughts cooled did he realise the pain in his paw. He looked at it, it was blistered over, it had been from the bounty hunter. Raising it from the ground he continued, he had three other legs after all

---------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard notices the priests occasional glances and quiet chants. She wasn't sure but he almost looked..concerned. She never thought he was capable beyond anything of the mad grin that he usually wore.

Dismissing the thought, she took off her hat and absent mindedly twiddled with the point

--------------------------------------------------

Jeannie gathered her things and headed to the coach, she didn't want to hang around in the Inn anymore. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched and wanted to get moving as soon as possible.

Informing the others that she would meet them on the coach if they were coming back to the city, she set off at a leisurely pace.

She still had the feeling of being watched, her mind played out several senarios ranging from the woman who had threatend her and Jake last night, to dwarves loitering with murderous intent.

Remembering Mrs Wizzards note, she became 100 sure that they were being spied on.

She thought to herself, that if they were being spied on then surely the fact they were leaving would be a good thing from the point of view of the spies? hopefully they would be left alone if it looked like they had given up and were heading home

she hung onto that thought as she arrived at the coach and put her pack on the luggage rack on the top

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard collects her things and gets up to leave for the coach. Before she goes she turns to Gigio. She does something that she didn't excpect, and hugged him.

"Be careful, Gigio. We'll see you back at Ankh-Morpork soon."

She turned and walked out with the priest. Jeannie was already inside when they got to the coach. Mrs. Wizzard sits back and pepares for the ride back home

------------------------------------------------------------------

It was dark when Jake came to a halt and sniffed the air. He had been running all day and had covered a fair distance, but he was tired and needed, if not something to eat, then certainly something to drink. Sitting back on his haunches he lifted a leg and scratched his ear, it felt really good, pleasures were a great deal simpler in wolf form. Picking up the little bundle again he loped along, usually a forest was a dangerous place, but to be honest, what on earth would attack a wolf let alone a werewolf. Finding a pond he looked at his reflection, he was large, but not yet full grown and black with a white patch over one eye that gave him an almost cute expression. Jake knew that his face had been the last thing that many had seen. Shaking the thoughts from his mind he began to drink from the stream. He would hopefully make Ankh-Morpork, mind you knowing his luck, it would be just in time for the full moon.

Looking up he saw the gibbous moon hanging and felt it's pull, it was waxing. Without meaning to he felt himself howl

--------------------------------------------------------

Gigio waves at the departing coach and head back to the inn, he will have to lay low and wait for the troubled waters to be back to normal, keep hears and eyes well open and see if everything will be back to 'normal' in a few days, than can make his moves..

------------------------------------------------

Jeannie welcomed Mrs Wizzard and the Priest as they climbed aboard the coach.

"All ready then? I hope Gigio stays safe"

her companions nodded in agreement

As the coach pulled out of the city there was a deep comfortable silence, each one deep in their own thoughts.

After a while Jeannie pulled a deck of cards from her pack and the group played a few hands of Cripple Mr Onion...

later on as she was jolted awake by the coach hitting a bumpy patch of ground she realised she had dozed off, even more remarkable was the fact she had slept without having the Dream. It felt refreshing, and for the first time in ages she felt rested.

"Mrs Wizzard? I didn't want to mention anything back in in Sto Lat but we were being spied on on on the way to the coach.I just thought I'd let you know so that..."

Jeannie looked sharply out of the window at the sound of Jakes howl, the others wouldn't have heard it so keenly but her ears picked it up with ease. After all it was part of the wolf thing.

"um, what was I saying? oh yeah, so that you are aware of it and won't be taken by surprise. It would be a good idea for us to warn Gigio by clacks when we get back to the city...just in case, although I _think_ he'll probably be left alone now"

---------------------------------------

It didn't surprise Mrs. Wizzard that someone had been spying on the coach. After all that's happened, she'd have been surprised if they _weren't_ being watched.

She was, however, concerned for Gigio's safety. But, there wasn't much that she could do from here. Mrs. Wizzard took a book from her robes and found her marked page.

"I think Gigio will be fine," she lied

----------------------------

sigh "I hope you're right"

After a while the coach approached the city gates, as it passed through the city Jeannie breathed in its various smells. It was quite a relief compared to the permanent vegetable smell they had left behind in Sto Lat.

The coach clattered to a halt outside the Post Office, Jeannie and the others dis-embarked

"Well, I need to go and report to Vimes and get directions to Mrs Cakes, I'm going to need lodgings...is that Dibbler? it is! Oi! Dibbler, I want a word with you! Top of the range shampoo was it? Yeah right, top of the range in the nearest pet shop! and don't get me started on those wigs, I've encountered corpses that smelt better!"

Jeannie marches over to a gobsmacked Dibbler, after a brief haranguing from Jeannie he accepts the merchandise back and even offers her a refund. This was a real achievement considering she didn't gave him any money as he was 'helping the watch in the interest of being a good citizen' when he 'donated' the goods.

Obviously satisfied but having refused the refund, she re-joins her companions.

Smiling at them she picks up her (now much lighter) pack.

"What about you guys?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was early morning when Jake finally smelt the stench of the Ankh, he was glad that there had obviously been rains recently the stink wasn't enough to make him gag. On the outskirts of the city he changed and put his clothes back on. Doing his best to clean the mud off he straightened his things and moved into the city he had come to call home.

He found his room still with all his possession in it and with only the money for rent missing. His land lady, he forgot her name, must have been the most honest person in Ankh-Morpork and that was certainly saying something. Changing into his own clothes he counted an approximate amount of money into an envelope and began walking to the Yard, he would drop this there and he would disappear out of the little groups life.

It was still early, but he saw the way the watchman kept an eye on him, he was on "the list". He went up to one of the trolls and held out the envelope.

"There is a watchman Jeannie is coming here soon, could you give her this please."

It wasn't that he trusted the troll, but trolls generally didn't have a lot of use for buying things so it was unlikely he would take it and keep it, he might of course forget, but that wasn't his problem. After a few growled words a large hand came out and the envelope disappeared. Jake turned and prepared to flee

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie headed away from the Post Office, the Priest seemed happy enough and she knew that Mrs Wizzard was perfectly at ease in the city..She had asked them to come to the watch house when they were ready and they could catch up on the latest news regarding the brothers

She headed towards the watch house, She went in and changed into some fresh clothes. As she was heading to the canteen she stopped, She would recognise that scent anywhere.

Her curiosity got the better of her, she headed to the main door

"There is a watchman Jeannie is coming here soon, could you give her this please."

Jeannie leant against the door frame, and as Jake turned to go, said

"She's already here"

-----------------------------------------------------------

Jake turned at the sound of her voice, he mentally berated himself that he had left it so late before coming. He stood there in his own clothes now, not very fancy, but far better fitting. He opened his mouth to speak, but the Troll saved him the trouble.

"Here you go miss, someone left this for you."

Jake took a step backwards, he knew it was early but he would really rather be in a bar right now, besides being around watchman made his hackles itch.

"It's the money I owe you, I don't like being in anyone's debt"

----------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard closed the gates of Unseen University behind her. Her husband was home but he felt like he needed to sleep for a few days. She wasn't surprised. He'd actually done so in the past. She'd told him that she still had some buisness to take care of and left him to sleep.

Mrs. Wizzard strolled down the street, taking in the sites and smells. She had only been gone for a day or so but she had truly missed this city. She suddenly heard something a few yards away.

"Ugh. Dibbler, I'm surprised anyone can eat these sausages. There can't be anyone on the Disc that could eat more than one!" She smiled. Oh, yeah. She was home.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, "Do you like to wager?"

-----------------------------------------------

The constable passed her the envelope, Jeannie took it.

"Thankyou. Consider the debt paid."

As she turned to go back in the watch house she hesitated, turn back to face him and looked him straight in the eye

"Maybe now that pride of yours can heal"

She walked back into the watch house,as she made her way to the canteen she wondered if her being a watch officer was one of the reasons for Jakes strange attitude towards her, that and a large dose of male pride. He really didn't like being helped. Well, it didn't really matter now, he had paid his debt and from what she had read in Gigios report back in Sto Lat Jake would probably head to the nearest bar

When she arrived at the canteen she helped herself to a mug of the tannin rich tea that was part of any watchmans daily diet. Spotting Vimes at one of the tables she walked over

"Excuse me sir, may I?"

Vimes gave her a brief nod, Jeannie sat down opposite him

She filled him in on the events back at Sto Lat, and Gigios decision to remain undercover there.

He informed her that the brothers were acting too cocky, it was making some of the watchmen uneasy, when Jeannie told him about the note that Mrs Wizzard found he nodded, that fitted with what was going on alright. When the briefing was finished Jeannie went back to the locker room, gathered her few possessions, she wasn't surprised to smell Nobbys scent on the locker door and set out to find Mrs Cakes lodgings

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard walked away from the crowd smiling. Those who had participated in the sausage eating contest were on the ground either being sick or crying for their mums. The bystanders could only watch in disbelieving horror. One of the menn on the ground watched her go, from a lopsided angle.

"That woman is NOT normal!" he moaned.

Dibbler went on counting his money. "Yeah, but she's good buisness," he said, happily

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He watched Jeannie walk away and stood there until she disappeared. It was the gaze of the troll that brought him out of his reverie. Having what amounted to a small mountain would do that to you he guessed. He was suddenly very aware of where he was and decided it would be a good idea if he turned and took his leave.

Jeannie was wrong though, Jake did not find the nearest bar, he bought himself a few bottles of bear huggers and prepared to sleep the rest of the day and probably most of the night away. Shutting and bolting the door to his room he noticed a dust pan and brush on the inside of the door and wondered what they were for, shrugging he moved to the window and flipped upon the top of the bottle, looking at the label before pouring some of it into a mug and taking a slug. One thing he had to thank Angua for was setting him up with a night watchman duty standing around looking after other peoples stuff, at least it paid well, as well as anything pays in Ankh-Morpork. Realising the mug was already empty he refilled it and took another slug

----------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie finally located Mrs Cakes, and arranged herself some accomdation. Mrs Cake was very understanding about 'morphically gifted' people and all the doors were easily used no matter what shape the resident was.

While putting her few things away, she found herself holding the cloth. She stood for few moments and re-newed her personal vow...she will find him!

Having sorted her things out, she picked up her emergency pouch. She undressed, fastened the pouch around her neck and changed.

There was a mirror in the room, Jeannie had never really looked at herself in wolf form before. She looked almost like any other wolf apart from the slightly longer fur and the golden colour with white patches around her muzzle and throat. Her colouring had probably helped convince that woman back in Sto Lat that she wasn't a wolf

She went back outside, she needed to get to know this city better so she set off to check out her new surroundings

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Jake woke with a start as a knock came at his door. It was a gentle knock he was sure, but it sounded like someone banging on a large gong. Turning his head he saw that one of the bottles was empty, if he hadn't been a werewolf he would probably be dead by now. It hurt to blink, he made a mental check and realised that his legs were tingling with numbness, but he could move his arms, that was good enough for the moment. Looking over at the mug he realised there was still a little bear huggers left and swigged it down, the pain eased slightly and the feeling in his legs returned again.

"Hello?"

He croaked, sitting up, but remaining where he was.

As the door opened he saw the figure silhouetted in the doorway and realised it was his land lady, she was nice and didn't make a statement about how the room must have smelt. She looked at him and laid the note on the table by the bed.

"This came for you, they said it was urgent that I give it to you."

He looked at the note and saw his name written clearly on the front of the plain card. He turned to the woman and thanked her. Waiting until she left he picked up the folded card, the scent of it was obscured completely by the scent of whiskey in the room. The words in the note were better than any Klatchian coffee though and the feeling in all his limbs had suddenly vanished. His grip on the not was white with force, eventually though he managed to fold it and place it by his bed before collapsing back down. How had they found him? What could they want? He felt a slight trembling grip him, but he wasn't sure if that was the bear huggers or the note, perhaps a mixture of the two

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Jeannie made her way through the streets and alleys, watching the people and sniffing the scents.

Once or twice she came across familiar scents such as Mrs Wizzard, the Priest and some of the other watch officers.

She carried on exploring...she could smell the territories marked out by the city's dog population, she could smell the river, she could smell the trails leading into the river where corpses had been disposed of, she could smell Nobby Nobbs having a sneaky smoke down that alley over there...

after a while she found a convenient alley. She ducked in and came out fully dressed, she needed to send a clacks to Gigio. She made her way through the streets...

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NO NEWS FROM HERE - STOP - WENT TO SEMAPHOR TOWER ALL FINE - STOP - NO SIGN FROM LITTLE FRIENDS - STOP - WILL SEND AGAIN DAY AFTER TOMORROW - END -

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He awoke to the familiar tingling in his body, he had thought it had been the bear huggers before, but it was clear as he looked out the window and into the patchy sky that it was full moon. It really wasn't a good time for him to change tonight, but he knew from experience that to deny the change would be more than a little painful. As quickly as he could and with a morphic field that was quickly getting confused, he did his best to take his clothes off. 

Jake blinked his lupine eyes and could see the thick smog of the bear huggers that hung in the room, the smell of it almost made him feel drunk again. In the midst of it all the envelope, surrounded in it's own small cloud of distinct scent, luckily drowned, almost completely by the thick must of alcohol. The mere thought of the scent made him cower slightly and he felt his body tremble. Without a second thought he dived out of the window and landed lightly on the paving below.

The night smelt of all the familiar scents, he could have closed his eyes and known where exactly in the city he was. The sharp tangs of blood, sweat and urine seemed strongest here but he knew it would change as he wandered around. He guessed it was time for him to go to work anyway, the owners were never there as long as stuff wasn't stolen then he would get paid. The remains of the alcohol In his blood and the feel of the pull of the moon brought the werewolf out, not just a wolf but a wolf with human emotions and intelligence. His scent was a mixture of terrible rage, fear and a little bear huggers. Toughened street dogs form the guild backed away as he passed through territories clearly marked, tonight was not a good night for dogs

----------------------------------

Jeannie recieved the clacks from Gigio and sent a brief one back to him to tell him they had met with no trouble on the way back or in the city and would keep him informed on any new developments from this end.

Her exploration of the city had taken the best part of the day and as night closed in the full moon called to her. Slipping into an alley Jeannie emerged on all paws.

A couple of large street-scarred dogs ran into her as she walked, they were sent off yelping. Jeannie had learnt self control, if she had been one of her mothers pack the dogs would have been ripped to shreds.

The way they had come pelting down the street towards her suggested they were running away from something, well what ever it was it didn't bother her as she slunk along almost enjoying the familiar feeling of primitive power

well, for now the night belonged to the wolf...

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The dog hadn't moved quickly enough and now cowered before the wolf with the patch of white fur that seemed to gleam in the bile light of the moon passing through the haze of the Ankh. The dog whined piteously and bled from delicately from a slash across its side. It wasn't sure how it had all happened, one minute it was walking along and then it had smelt the wolf, but it had smelt strange not quite a wolf. The dog, very particular about its territory ambushed the intruder and then it had all gone wrong, now it was here and looking at the eyes of a true predator.

Jake seemed to shake with the anger, the unfairness of it all and the confusion. Why now? What could they possibly want from him now? The wolf seemed to be working on auto-pilot and deftly spun the dog to the ground while its mind tried to see through the red haze of its anger. Wrestling with himself Jake did his best to concentrate and noticed his clawed foot on the dogs side. The creature trembled with anticipation of further retribution but the lupine turned and walked away, he had to get to his job, he couldn't afford these distractions.

In the shadows all that was clear were his amber eyes that seemed to float in darkness. As a rat scurried past the wolf lunged expertly and grabbed it, flipping it in the air and snapping it's neck before biting down. The human part of Jake was disgusted but the wolf was board and hungry. Withdrawing into the shadows he watched the street as he was paid to do

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Jeannie padded along the streets, then smelt a smell that pierced through the stench of the city...blood!

The wolf had instinctivly run towards it before Jeannie managed to regain control, she saw the injured dog but forced herself to walk past it. The scent of the blood was strong, vey strong. There wasn't a great deal of it but that didn.t matter to her nose.

She made up her mind that she should really get back to her room. The wolf was feeling very powerful tonight and the last thing she wanted was to wake up with a mouth full of chicken feathers...or worse.It had happened before, in the old days back in the pack. The human part of her shudderd at the memories, yep definitly best to get away from the streets

While she was still in control she carried on down the street, trying to ignore the scent of blood that filled her nose

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He spotted her then, his own scent concealed by the blood that hung in the air. Jake watched the female that seemed to be moving through the streets, he had a vague recollection that he had seen the wolf somewhere before, but he dismissed it. Jake's human mind threw up a name 'Jeannie' but the wolf just sat and watched the female, she was not of his pack and she was dangerously close to the territory he was protecting, should she travel much closer he would have to warn her.

His meal was forgotten instead his smouldering gaze watched as she sniffed their and made her way through the streets. She smelt nice, the wolf licked the blood from its maw and watched, tilting his head Jake tried to remember where he had seen the female before

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Jeannie felt the wolf getting stronger, so she picked up the pace a bit. It was the blood, she knew it, but that didn't make it any easier. She had gotten good at riding the wolf during these times but now her human mind was becoming swallowed by the wolf.

As she carried on down the street she felt a sensation of movement somwhere ahead of her, she froze, the blood was making it hard to detect any other scents..for a werewolf this was like being blind, she advanced cautiously

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As the female advanced a blood curdling growl was ripped from the wolf that lay on the box. Jake's human mind knew that this was not what he wanted to do, but the wolf remembered Uberwald, remembered being a pack and protecting that territory. Now was the wolf's time, but the wolf was confused, this was a female, an intruder yes, but a female all the same.

Jake saw the intruder, could see her smell, but could barely smell it in the haze of blood that seemed to hang around the boxes, the snarl came again it was clear it meant "Mine!"

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Mrs. Wizzard never needed much sleep to get by. Mostly, she spent her nights wandering around the city. There'd been a vampire somewhere back along in her bloodline. She'd inherited a love for nights. The night called out to her.

Taking care to look out for herself, Mrs. Wizzard made her way to the Brass Bridge. Leaning over the parapet, she looked down into the river. Well, more _at_ the river. It was so thick that if anyone could look _into_ it it was a damn miracle.

"Bingely-Bingely-Beep!" Mrs. Wizzard sighed and reached into her pocket. She produced a small box and opened it to reveal a small demon.

"Remind me again why I bought you damn little thing," she said.

"Eleven-fifty pee em: Get attacked by a thief on the Brass Bridge," the demon chimed.

"What the-" She turned around. "Oh, bugger."

Mrs. Wizzard ducked as the thief made a grab for her, took hold of his legs, and threw him over backwards. There was a _plop_ as she heard him hit the water and slowly sink. Smiling, she straightened herself up and walked off.

"Damn, it's good to be home," she said

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The growl came out of the shadows, in immediate response Jeannies ears pricked up and she bared her incisors. Her fur bristled and she assumed the crouching position to show she was ready to attack if it came to it

Her human mind was trying to tell the wolf to leave before it got nasty, her wolf mind simply knew that it had been threatend, and that was not going to go unanswerd

She let out a vicious snarl in response, she could now see the other wolf in the shadows, she didn't recognise the markings and she could still only smell the blood. Her snarl intensified as her human mind cried out in vain to stop

--------------------------------------------------

At first, the priest just sat in the gutters in the Temple District, ignoring just about everything, even the small change that was thrown beside him. Then suddendly, he stood up, eyes gleaming, and walked purposefully towards the street of Cunning Artificers.  
He strode through almost the whole city (even the Shades), ignoring carts, horses, passersby (including some of his travelling companions) and causing major traffic jams. He would enter different houses, emerge after a few minutes, and stride whitout pausing towards his next goal. With each house he visited and person he talked to, his grin became wider...  
'It's going to be beautifull, impsoing, marvellous, _godly_ !' he said to himself

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Mrs. Wizzard heard something growling a little off in the disctance and her curiosity got the best of her. As she made her way to the noise she saw the two werewolves standing there, ready to attack each other. Not knowing what else to do, Mrs. Wizzard hides behind a pile of discarded boxes, a few yards away.

"Ye gods, what happened _this_ time?" she whispered to herself as she watched her friends in quiet horror

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After finishing his business, the Priest inconspiciously sneaked into the temple of small gods. He sneaked into the Chapel of Any God Who Might Be Listening and, after checking all corners to see if he was alone, emptied the donations box. Then he left. And entered the Chapel of Gods Of Dead Pixies Found In Cupboards While Sober.  
A while later, and a few streets away, the Priest entered a house, pockets jingling.  
There was a sign nailed to the door. It said:  
Selling Property: Street Of Small Gods, Blood Alley (Shades), Cable Street, Sheer Street (Isle Of The Gods), Myrtle Street

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She was clear now amidst the dancing motes of blood scent, he had warned her he had, but she was a female so he dithered, this was not due to any mad sense of gallantry but just because she smelt very good. Jumping down from the box he moved towards her, his growl getting louder "MINE!" the growl was clear.

The moon hung so impassively it was hard to imagine that it was partly responsible for the crazed behaviour. Jake's human mind tried to claw its way up, but the smell of blood seemed to drown everything out, it was amazing what the smell of that liquid seemed to evoke from all peoples, it's just it usually invoked a slightly more fatal response in a werewolf

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As he approached her his scent finally cut through the blood haze. The human part of Jeannie recognised it in a instant and tried to make itself heard.

The wolf didn't want to listen. If the male had stayed in the shadows Jeannie might have had a chance to get through to the wolf but It was crazed by the smell of blood and the male was approaching, she felt threatened and she got ready to defend herself.

Jeannies human mind struggled for control as the wolves eyes locked

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The Troll guarding the gate of pseudopolis yard watched impassively as a construnction site was set up viz-ah-viz of the Watch house. He wondered what posh bugger is paying for this. After all, only posh buggers could afford to buy property on the isle of the gods.  
A ragged, thin, pale priest strode up to the construction site with an air wich contrasted brutally with his appearance. He started shouting feverishly at the workers, quoting religious phrases and promising extra money if they finished the work by tommorrow.  
The Priest wandered off to earn some fast money, so that he could get on with the really important work, before the building was finished

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Feeling the instinct and training of his pack he moved with the confident strut of a male, with just a hint of tension in case she decided to try and tear him to shreds. This was a side of Ankh-Morpork that the other residents never saw, when the full moon came out, come to think of it, it wasn't often that you could see the full moon anyway. 

Moving closer the snarl lessened by did not disappear, he did not attack her, she smelt very good. Moving to one side of her, he sniffed deeply, it was truly intoxicating, he felt saliva cling to his jaw. The smell of her was so close now that the human part that was Jake jumped up and the wolf took a step back, there was too much blood here, he took another step back, but it wasn't an easy step to take

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noticing the change in the tones of the snarl, she relaxed slightly and stood still. She allowed the male to approach her. His scent was much much stronger now, it was enticing. A name came into her mind 'Jake!'

At the recognition of the name, Jeannie felt her human part getting through to the wolf. She saw the male back away. The air was thick with the blood scent, but Jakes scent was pre-dominant now giving Jeannies human part the chance it needed to regain some control

Her tail drooped as she relaxed and she also backed up to show Jake that she was no threat...it was a struggle but she was winning, she was thinking more coherently. The blood,needed to get away from the blood

still backing up, she looked around for any alleys that would lead her away from here without going near the bleeding dog. Having found one she looked at the male, made a soft "muurrr" noise and padded away.

She headed straight back to Mrs Cakes, she needed meat! and Mrs Cake was very considerate to the needs of her lodgers and kept fresh meat in a special larder. Jeannie grabbed one of the birds in her jaws and headed back to her room. Whilst Jeannies human part turned away in disgust the wolf savoured it's meal, licked it's paws clean and curled up under the bed

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Mrs. Wizzard was still watching. Well, it doesn't look like they're gonna kill each other now, she thought to herself. Still moving slowly, she got up and wandered off to find something more interesting to watch

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The priest rushed into his shed, and opened the more fiersome religious grimoires on the table. He then took a blank book, bought especially for this, and started editing, translating and copying like mad.  
'Who knows which daft old buggers wrote these, they never believed. These things never were true. But they will be...' He grinned.  
It was already morning. He dried out the ink, and strode towards the construnction site.  
It was finished. ''What cheek!' theyll say... to build a temple to a god no-ones ever heard of... on the isle of gods too, in the posh district...Well, its called the isle of gods, so why not have some gods... This will certainly attract some attention...' he thought.  
He payd the workers and was happy to see that all the priests he had spoken to, were already here. He assigned them theyre tasks, and gave instructions on how to decorate the interior.  
The book was layed on the altar. Torches fixed on massive pillars basked the room in an mystic light. Loud thumping noises announced that a golem just entered.  
'You, what are you called?' asked the Priest.  
'Tjmkl' rumbled the golem.  
'I have no idea how you pronounce that, but youll be called ... Messenger of Barrucaddu! Youve been freed by my friend Dorfl, so I trust you do know something about religion.'  
'All There Is To Know.'  
'Good, you will be High Priest. Whenever you have nothing to do, and preferably when people enter, stand behind the altar. Lets see how you look.'  
The golem did as instructed. Anyone who entered the temple would now see a long room lined with pillars and torches, dimly lighting the room, statues on the walls,casting weird shadows and depicting Barrucadu in various poses. The ceiling is painted with lemons. At the end of the room, an altar with two blood red glowing eyes behind it.  
This will certainly make an impression. A golem High Priest? In the temple of an unknown god? On the isle of Gods? He could see the look ont he face of all thos eposh buggers already. Barrucadu will be pleased, he thought. And if there are any troublemakers, theres the golem and the Watch House viz-ah-viz.  
He gave some mopre instructions about the decorations and went to eat a pizza

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Jeannie awoke just after dawn, she opened her eyes and enjoyed those first brief moments before recollection comes flooding back.

She groaned as she remembered the encounter with Jake, she had been ready to rip his throat out...well, not her exactly but the wolf had wanted to. Of course the ending of the encounter gave her pause for thought, his scent had been very attractive...

Damn full moon! Not for the first time in her life she cursed the fact that she was neither wolf nor human. Always the struggle between the two…but it had been so much easier back in the pack, before she had begun to question her mothers ways. There had been no guilt, no remorse. Just the pack, the hunt…the kill

She shuddered, and locked the memories back into the darkest recesses of her mind

As she got dressed she found herself idly wondering who would have won, people often assumed the males were stronger but this wasn't true. A fight between her and Jake really could have gone either way. She felt the need to apologise to him, but that was silly. He was a werewolf, he would understand the nature of the beast.

Now fully dressed, she washed and brushed her blonde hair. Slipping some coins into her pocket she went out to find somewhere that did a decent breakfast

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GOT NEW PATH TO FOLLOW - STOP - NOTHING STIRRED - STOP - WILL MOVE TOMORROW - STOP - WILL SEND AGAIN TOMMOROW EVENING IF I CAN - END

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Mrs. Wizzard sat at the back table of the Mended Drum with a half empty mug of beer in front of her. She had a bowl of peanuts in front of her that she was shooting through a straw and into an empty mug at the bar. Some people would give her a penny everytime that she made one in. She'd win a dollar if she broke a shot glass with a peanut. By this point, Mrs. Wizzard had made about three dollars and eightpence

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The Priest enters the Mended Drum, sees Mrs Wizz, proudly walks up to her table and orders a coffee and a mug of alcoholic beer. He hands the cup of brown-grrenish coffee to Mrs Wizz, grinning ,along with a shiny new pamphlet. It read:  
Demonic Coffee, How to recognise in five easy steppess! Also includes prayers for different types of aforementioned coffe and general prayers to the great Baruucadu, Great God, Drinker Of Blood, Saver Of Souls, Breaker Of Hearts, Shower-er of Lemons, etc. (purchase additional pamphlet for rest of titles)

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Mrs. Wizzard looks at the liquid the priets had handed to her. Did he expect her to drink this stuff? It looked like he'd just dipped a mug into the river Ankh and added more dirt. She read through the pamphlets and looked up at his madly grinning face. It somehow looked more maniacal than usual. She sighed.

"Okay, I'm gonna regret asking this but, what have you been up to all night?"

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Patrick climbs down from the latest coach to arrive in the city and stands in the middle of the street for a moment taking in the sights and ...smells. He's never been here before and tries to catch the attention of passers-by;

"Excuse me, can you please..."

"Sir! Good day to you! Do you know where I could find..."

People don't make eye contact with him, moving well off to the side as he approaches. Finally, he looks around and spots a place called...The Mended Drum. He's seen places like it before in his travels and although there is little for him inside, he hopes to have better luck meeting some locals.

_A place to sit right now would be perfect. Maybe they'll know where I can find a room to stay._

Hoisting his one bag over his left shoulder he walks through the door and as his eyes adjust, spots two people at a table in the back. Walking toward the bar he notices the peanuts and broken bits of glass and thinks "?".

"Something light please, sir. In a clean glass." The barman mumbles something about "forners and their ways" as he ducks behind the counter. A minute later, Patrick finds a seat and settles down with his glass of...what did he call this?

He can almost hear the conversation from the back table, but is just glad to have finally made it here in one piece. Travelling is hard

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	4. Chapter 4

The Priest excitedly tells Mrs Wizz about the temple located viz-ah-viz Pseudopolis Yard, the priests, repeats several times that hes got a golem, and that he has re-wri... _written_ a book of Barruccadu, that hell give out pamphlets and post posters and that he has finally found his vocation, although he didnt seem to be sure of the meaning of the word. And he said he got a golem.

----------------------------------------

Jeannie meandered through the streets, in no particular hurry. She bought herself a copy of The Times from a man who appeared to have a duck on his head...deciding not to even ask, she went to get some breakfast

She spotted a cafe that looked reasonably clean by Ankh Morpork standards, ordered herself a bacon roll and a coffee and chose one of the tables outside.

As she sat back and ate her breakfast, she read the paper and watched the happenings on the street, breathing in the smells and listening to the noises which were already becoming familiar despite her short time in the city

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Patrick enjoys the chance to sit, even if it is with his back to the wall and watches the Priest in what is obviously an animated manner.

Looking back to the bar he notices the barman glance away quickly, trying hard to look like someone that hasn't been staring at anyone recently.

_The barman probably won't be too helpful, but I'd wager the Priest knows his way around. Maybe he could tell me where a good rooming house can be found._

Rising from his chair, Patrick grabs his bag and makes his way over to the table where the Priest is gesturing wildly.

"Excuse me Bro..er...sir. Sorry to intrude; I was wondering if you could point me to a decent house with a room to rent?"

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Hmm... cunningly yes, yes I may know of such a place. Yes, I know my way around the city, Im a priest, you know. shake hands, leaving an interesting pamphlet on the subject of Baruccadism in daleks hand. Sheer Street nr 33. Talk to the golem, and to prove to him I sent you, give him this note. scribbles something on a piece of paper, supressing some laughter and muttering something on the lines of 'first follower ..hehe...mutter.. Introduction rite to Barrucadism ...holy water... Universal Lemon...hehe'.  
Here you go. Its just viz-ah-viz of Pseudopolis Yard, the Watch House, you cant miss it. Tis my temple, we have nice soft beds, dont you worry. oh, and i will have to ask you _not_ to look at that note, for ... no particular reason.  
Now go! The Blessings of The Universal Lemon be upon you! looks for liquid to dip hand in, as he has no holy water on him right now, sees the coffe, dip hand in liquid and attempt to slap it on daleks head. He dodged the godly gesture automatically, only to be rewarded with a slightly accusing glance from the priest.

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Finishing her breakfast, Jeannie sat and ponderd about recent events

Several things were nagging at her, for a start why on earth would the Dwarves be involved with the brothers? And why could she smell that flammable oil back in Sto Lat?

Speaking of Sto Lat, who the hell had sent that woman after her? And why had Jake been attacked here in Ankh Morpork but woken up in Sto Lat?

Why were the brothers spying on Mrs Wizzard and her companions? And why did Mrs Wizzard not tell anyone?

Why were the brothers so cocky back in the cells? What were they planning?

Why could she not answer any of these questions!! She was a watch officer damn it! it was her job to find answers.

Where to start?...

City life bustled around her as she sat lost in her thoughts, her coffee growing cold on the small wooden table infront of her

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Patrick accepts the pamphlet and folded piece of paper from the Priest, slipping them into his pocket.

"A temple you say? Never actually stayed in a temple before...didn't think that happened really. Um...I can pay for a few nights, until I find something more...suitable? I can also work, if you need any chores done around the place - er, temple."

_I can't believe I'm actually considering stayng at a temple. Plus this guy, priest or not, looks like a right lunatic._

Still standing, but with a clear path in mind to the front door, Patrick reaches into his bag and produces a coin to show that he does have money. Right about then his stomach starts growling and he asks the priest," Uh, is there somewhere I can get something to eat? Somewhere not...here?"

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"If your hungry there should be plenty of food at the temle," If you like lemons, she finished in her head. "But, if you don't like le- Want to go to a place that's closer by, I think there's a cafe just down the road.

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"Ah. Thanks. Right!"

Patrick makes his way out of the Mended Drum and onto the street, heading off in search of the cafe.

Bag over his shoulder, he walks along just slowly enough to take in the sights, without looking like a complete tourist.

_No real watch presence, no soldiers milling about. People are a little off, but I don't get the feeling I'll have to sleep with my dagger tonight._

Noticing the cafe coming up he decides to stop here for a bite and maybe get a paper.

_Food first, then sleep. Tomorrow look for a bit o' work. This gold won't last me forever._

Just before he enters the cafe he sees a young woman sitting on her own apparently lost in thought. Another glance tells him she's not just a woman sitting on her own.

_I wouldn't say Watch right away, but then again..._

Walking inside, he orders a breakfast fit for two people and grabs a paper left behind by a departing customer.

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Jeannie was still furiously deliberating and trying to make sense of what they knew. Part of her felt a sharp pang of guilt that she was putting so much thought into the mystery surrounding the brothers and not into finding Minnies murderer...but, she reminded herself sadly, the trail had been lost for now, the best thing she could do was to put her efforts into helping her friends until she found a new lead.

She was slightly distracted by a man walking past her into the cafe. She realised she had been sat here for ages and her coffee had gone cold. She went back inside for a moment and orderd a fresh one. She returned to her seat outside and sat staring into the brown murk, thinking.

Where to go from here? Maybe the dwarves back at the watchhouse? Would they help her? Surely Carrot would...wouldn't he? Maybe if she asked to interview the brothers? But if they were as confident as Vimes said why would they tell her anything?

Jeannies mind ran round in circles as she tried to decide what to do

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Breakfast in hand, Patrick decides to grab a seat outside and take in more of the city.

Taking a seat at an empty table he steals another look at the woman sitting on her own.

_Aw heck, she doesn't bite..._

"Excuse me. I was wondering if you could help me. My name is Patrick and I'm...new here. Any chance you could point me in the direction of a room for rent?"

He waits a few seconds for a response and when none is forthcoming he sits back.

_Well at least she didn't start muttering about lemons..._

"You don't happen to know where Sheer Street is? Number 33 Sheer Street?"  
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Jeannie hears a voice just over to the left of her, it takes a few seconds to realise it was talking to her...

"hmmmm? oh! I'm sorry, I was miles away!

She turns to the newcomer, after realising what he had said

"33 Sheer Street? well, yes I know where it is but last I saw it was just a run down old slum. Why do you want to go there?"

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"I'm not sure I do want to go there actually. I'm looking for a place to stay and I kind of met up with a priest back at the Mended Drum. He told me I could stay at this address, reaches into his pocket and pulls out the scrap of paper.  
He told me to give this to someone there and they would take care of me."

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"Wow, priest, this is actually well thought out," said Mrs. Wizzard, looking through the pamphlets again. "I think I'd like to see this temple of yours so I know that this ain't just one of those 'too good to be true' moments." Deep inside her, Mrs. Wizzard felt that somehow she was going to regret this, but curiosity got the best of her

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Takes phamphlet and reads...mumble...Demonic coffee...Prayers... _Barracudu_!? sigh

Hands it back to the man, "well it seems you've been ahem fortunate enough to meet the priest, what an experience for you"

She tried to keep a straight face, but a smile broke through

"Sorry, he's harmless enough, I _think_

There are a few houses with rooms to rent around here. I'm still fairly new to the city myself but I'm sure I can help point you in the right direction. My name is Jeannie by the way, and you are?"

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"Sorry, my name is Patrick. I just got here this morning and feel a little out of sorts. Long night on the coach."

He wipes his hand on his shirts before extending it to Jeannie. Igor had always told him, 'you jutht never know where a hand hath been'.

" I couldn't help but notice you were deep in thought there for a while. Anything I can help you with Jeannie? Or maybe I should call you corporal...maybe sergeant?"

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Jeannie stares at Patrick in shock, how could he have known!?

Her reaction had already given her away so there was no point in covering

"It's Sergeant..." She went quiet for a minute

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you know?"  
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He smiles to himself, and lowers his voice a little...

"Oh don't worry, I'm not a wizard or anything like that. And as far as I know I'm not a spy either. I was in a...regiment for some time. So was my father and so I've been able to pick out a 'uniform' even when it's not being worn."

Taking a sip of his coffee he continues..

"After leaving the service I went into business for myself, personal security and so on. Even did some bounty-hunting for a few seasons. I can smell - no offense to you my dear - a uniform from a mile away."

Grabbing up the paper he found inside, he gestures to it...

"Think they might have a need for someone like me around here? By the way, your secret is safe with me."

_I knew it. Watch. It's the way they hold themselves. Just sitting a little straighter than anyone else, walking a little taller. I'm just glad she's not some kind of animal - the young badges are always the heaviest to carry_

_----------------------------------------------------------_

Jeannie felt a surge of apprehension at the words 'bounty hunter' given her recent experiences, but recovered well.

Noting the 'my dear', she replied

"Well the watch is a possibility, or maybe one or two of the guilds. It all depends on your particular skills."

She looked at the newcomer noting his features, his speech and, most importantly for a werewolf,his scent.

You just never knew when that sort of thing would come in handy. well, she didin't know where to go next in her enquiry so there would be no harm in helping him to find somewhere to stay

"Let's get you sorted out with some accomodation, then you can find a job eh?"

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GOT LOG OF CLACK TRANSMISSION - STOP - DWARF COMMUNITIES ARE SOMEHOW BLACKMAILED - STOP - THERE WAS MANY DWARF COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN STO-LAT AM AND ÜBERWALD ALAS CRIPTED - STOP - TALK TO CARROT BUT NOT REPEAT NOT TO ANY OTHER DWARF - STOP - FIND AT THE BOTTOM A CRIPTED MESSAGE I THINK EVERYTHING STARTED AFTER THIS - VETINARI GOT A FRIEND THAT CAN HELP OR TRY HEX AT THE UU - END

ATTACHMENT:   
30 81 89 02 81 81 00 b9 4a 3a 61 fb ad 98 e3 5d 0d 15 1b ab f0 02 a6 8a fb 67 27 0f a4 b3 6e 61 d5 ed 7e 13 34 34 bc 26 30 16 0e 13 24 8f 56 d1 2f cd 18 1a 72 55 0a bc 35 98 0c 7c 9b f8 8e 82 fd 66 04 aa 8d 1c 5e 25 91 04 d1 d3 c8 95 b2 ac 21 6f 44 62 04 86 40 e1 f8 99 29 6d e2 e2 2f ae f3 9b 1e a1 0e 4f 04 4c 10 10 0d 15 63 14 7c 5f 4e f7 7e 31 0b 1f 9a 8c b9 40 2b 3e 45 3d 69 96 f6 ee 99 b1 e1 fe d9 02 03 01 00 01

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Lo and behold, Mrs Wizz! I have finally found my vocation! Im a priest, you know... Note the complicated gargoyle wossnames. Wait a second before entering... rushes inside, muffled: get behind the altar! and douse a few torches! shout from inside okay, you can come in now! grin

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Okay, there were two questions he needed answers to, each of them important and each of them needing answers pretty quickly. Where was he? Always a good question after a full moon night, as it wasn't always where you expected yourself to be. Which way was up? This was a particular favourite as he had once found himself in a tree, he had no idea how he had got there, but he had been and had not realised it until he was falling, quite quickly towards the grown and luckily a deep drift of sand, unluckily a thorn bush was underneath the drift.

Opening his eyes he realised he was not in a tree, but was in fact, as werewolves often seem to find themselves, in an alley. He ached all over and realised he must have picked a fight with every mutt stupid enough to try, he was covered in scratches and bites, luckily he had managed to get to the window of his room, but had obviously collapsed to sleep the rest of the night's exertions off beneath it. 

Stumbling to his feet he fell through his open window and scrabbled around until he had managed to get all of his clothes off, always difficult when you believe you should have paws. Using the water in the bowl he scrubbed himself and looked at his reflection in the small crack of mirror. He didn't look bad, most of the bites were on his body and when he put his clothes on disappeared, although he could still feel them. Looking over at the small table he saw the invitation and suddenly realised why he had been in such a foul mood. After he had managed to make himself half presentable he walked out and tried to find somewhere to eat.

When he came to the café he saw her, Jeannie and the confrontation from last night seemed to come crashing down around his ears. She had come into his territory but she had been incredibly alluring, the smell of blood and the full moon had drove the wolf half crazed with lust for carnage and Jeannie. He walked into the café and pretended to not see the other werewolf sitting there. The invitation came to the forefront of his mind again as he pretended to flick through menu

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard, every sensible nerve in her body shouting in protest, stepped inside of the temple. Her first thought was, Oh my gosh, he really got a golem.

As she got to the altar, she'd caught the golem's attention. Mrs. Wizzard sidles a bit away. Golemns were among the things that Mrs. Wizzard was, for a good reason, afraid. of. When she looked around she realised that she'd only sidled closer to the priest. Was this much better? a dull voice inside asked her.

"Priest, I have to say, though this worries me greatly, you actually did a very good job on this temple overnight." She noticed the basin on the pedestal beside her, supposedly containing holy...ah, yes, holy lemonade. There were seeds floating in it.

"So," she said, trying to fill the silence, "have you converted anyone else to Barrucaduism besides that random person back at the Drum?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AS Jeannie was trying to think of the best place to direct Patrick so he could get some accomodation, she was suddenly hit by Jakes scent...her words faltered when she saw him.

She was almost relieved when he walked past her, she really wasn't sure what to say to him. Maybe he didn't remember, it happened sometimes, you just woke up in a strange place and a pressing desire for some clothing.

Realising she was staring over to where he was, apparently, reading the menu, she shook her head and tried to remember what she had been talking about

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Noticing the subtle change in Jeannie, Patrick wonders what caught her attention. Not seeing anything obvous...

"Something wrong?"

-----------------------------------------------------------

realising that she had stopped in mid-conversation Jeannie gave Patrick an embarrassed smile

"um, nothing, sorry. I must seem very rude, I'm just a bit...distracted today"

She scribbled down a couple of places that she knew rented rooms and passed them to Patrick,

"I can't promise that they are any good. I've only been in the city for a short time myself."

Sitting back and taking a sip of her, now luke warm, coffee she pulled a face and put the mug down. It didn't taste that great hot, and cold was even worse.

Her inner watchman brought her curiosity to the forefront

"May I ask what brings you to the city?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick accepts the slip of paper with a smile, again grateful that she hasn't made any references to lemons...

"Work mostly. I've been wandering from place to place, looking for a home. Each time I come to a new town or city I stay for awhile, do some odd jobs try to get a feel for the place."

_Good copper...filling out a field interrogation card in her mind. Maybe I'm just too cynical. Could be she's just being friendly..._

"I heard along the way that this was a most 'interesting' place to live. Figured I'd give it a try. Besides, my wallet isn't bottomless. You said I could try the Watch? Really? I must admit the thought of joining a Guild doesn't really appeal too much."

Looking down at the writing on the paper...

"Any chance you could direct me to the nearest Watch house? Maybe a walk would clear your mind a bit?"

_Okay. Job first, then sleep...I'm flexible._

Patrick notices Jeannie still seems pre-occupied and wonders what or who is intruding on her mind...

"Maybe you could tell me how _you_ ended up here?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How I got here? Well, I left my lodgings, walked down the street, took a right then a left then another right."

Seeing his slightly bemused face,she grinned, "I'm just assisting the Ankh Morpork watch with a few things, and learning a few from Commander Vimes"

She stood up ready to leave, trying not to look at Jake

"It wouldn't hurt for you to talk to one of the more senior officers if you are interested in joining the Watch.You sound like you have plenty of relevent experiece"

mentally she added.. _hmmm, Bounty Hunting, Personal Security and a...significant pause regiment?Also sounds like a very well travelled man. Can also spot a non-uniformed watch officer from a mile away, wonder if he's had many encounters with watchmen? _

"I should be getting back to the Watch House, I'll show you how to get there. I need to check in at the Clacks on the way aswell"

As she began to walk out of the cafe, she wonderd if she should say anything to Jake, who was still apparently engrossed in the menu. Given their recent history she decided against it, besides if he wanted to talk to her he would have said somthing when he arrived at the cafe.

With Patrick walking beside her she left the cafe and headed to the watch house, stopping to pick up Gigios messages from the clacks on the way

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Walking along with Jeannie, Patrick begins to chuckle...

"You know, when I met that priest back in the Mended Drum, there was a woman sitting at the table with him. I wonder if he talked her into going to the temple with him?"

_Poor girl..haha! I hope she had enough sense to tell him she had to go wash her hair or something..._

"Poor guy looked so excited I thought he'd blow a seal."

Patrick appreciates the walk. He kept his curiosity contained as Jeannie picked up the message from the clacks. 

_Must be good neighbors after all..._

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Jeannie had a feeling she would find out what the priest was up to sooner or later.From the look of it he was trying to convert complete strangers to the ways of Barracudism, well you had to admire his passion, even it was was one with dubious sanity

She read the clacks from Gigio, and put it in her pocket. Blackmailing the dwarves?She needed to talk to Carrot as soon as possible!

Picking up the pace a bit she escorted Patrick to the Watch House

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to go, I've got something important to attend to. Good luck with your application, Vimes office is the first one at the top of the stairs, you can't miss it"

She felt terrible for just dumping Patrick in the watch house bout she really had to talk to Carrot.she went to look for him, only to be told he was out on patrol.

'Damn it! Well, I might aswell see if the guys at the university can help with the code"

As she left the watch house, she noticed a change in the buildings opposite

"Of course, Sheer Street!"

She knew she was probably going to regret it, but her curiosity got the better of her and she went towards the Priests New Temple of Barracudism

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The stare over his shoulder was what grabbed his attention and he looked over to where he remembered Jeannie being, she wasn't there. Confused he looked around and at last his eyes settled upon the tall figure, their aloof demeanour speaking of one who thinks themselves just a little bit better than all the rest, or at least one who gets paid by those that think themselves just a little bit above the rest. The figure approached, it seemed that people chose not to see him, rather they parted and pretended that it had been their idea all along.

"I trust you received the invitation."

Jake would have recognised that voice in a thunder storm at a distance of ten miles.

"I did, I must admit I was surprised, not of course that it is any of your business."

The figure smiled, Jake might be illegitimate but this guy was a servant, a glorified one but one non-the less.

"Well I'm sure that your brothers will be displeased if you do not attend."

Jake was glad of the overpowering smells of Coffee, sweat and Ankh-Morpork. They hadn't been 'his brothers' in a long time and they had always held a certain fear for him.

"Well we shall see."

He walked around the figure who reached out a hand, Jake whirled around and glared at the figure, who withdrew quite calmly. Jake stormed off thoughts skittering through his mind like a disturbed ant hill

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Jeannie entered the temple, and was astounded at what the priest had done in such a short amount of time.

She noted the Golem priest, but somehow was't surprised, this was the Priest who had done this after all. She saw the figures of the Priest and Mrs Wizzard and headed towards them.

After a confused glance at the holy lemonade, she asks

"Mrs Wizzard, I've received a clacks from Gigio, he thinks there is blackmail going on against the dwarves and he has sent an encrypted message that he thinks might hold some clues, do you think you could convince the wizards at UU to use Hex to figure it out?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard examines the clacks from Gigio. Her eyes almost spin with confusion.

"Bleh, looks like algebra. I always hated algebra." She looks at the array of numbers and letters again. "Ponder and I are pretty close, I've always been interested in learning more about Hex. I think he'd let us use it."

After a few moments of thought, Mrs. Wizzard looks over to the priest, and then back to Jeannie.

"Do you think we should bring him along? Wizards aren't very religious and under our current circumstances I don't think it would be wise to piss them off"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ah, dont you worry, I know the Archchancellor quite well. We have certain ... common interests. Hand pats pocket with wine bottle  
turns to golem Give the posters to some of the more incospicuos priests and tell them to post them everywhere. Especially in posh places, in obvious places, in unusual places, in...offending places. Also, bang the drums and gong as often as possible and as loudly as possible. noting Mrs Wizz and Jeannis confused stares,he wordlessly hands them a pamphlet on the subject of bells and theyre capacity to steal a part of ones soul

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie stares wordlessly at the phamphlet

Finding nothing to say apart from a weak

"Bells steal souls?ok then..." She puts the phamphlet in her pocket.

"Can I leave this one up to you guys then? I need to report to the Commander. Gigio thinks that even the city dwarves can't be approached about this so I better warn Vimes. Alot of those dwarves are officers here."

Nodding to Mrs Wizzard and giving the priest a confused look, she bids them goodbye and set off back to the Watchhouse.

On her way, she stopped. There was a feeling of being watched...she sniffed the air. There were no obvious scents, but the wind could be blowing in the wrong direction or the person could be aware of her 'abilities' and deliberatly avoiding being detected

With her mind flashing images of silver tipped crossbows being wielded by cigar smoking bounty hunters she slowly began to walk towards the watch house. After a few steps the feeling went, whoever had been watching her had gone...

Proceeding slowly, and looking into every shadow she made her way back to the watch house

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Onwards! starts to trot towards UU, while posting posters on windows, across door edges, so that the doors got glued to the wall, on the occasional troll and on annoing posh personalitites

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When they arrive at Unseen University, they step inside and Mrs. Wizzard sees Ponder almost immediately. She calls out to him.

"Good morning, Mrs. Wizzard," he says, "What can I do for you?"

Mrs. Wizzard hands him the clacks from Gigio.

"We were hoping that Hex could help us figure it out," she says

"I think I might be able to help, come with me" Ponder turns and begins to walk down the hall

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick enters the Commanders office after being shown in by an officer. Walking towards the desk he notices the room isn't what he thought it would be...

_Not like any Commanders office I've been in before..._

Taking a seat as directed he studies the man before him.

_Direct, to the point...not the kind to mince words. Looks like he's spent more than his fair share of cold nights out in this city._

Patrick answers the basic questions asked in interviews the Disc over. Everything seems pretty routine until he explains his more...professional experience.

"A Regiment man you say? And some experience in the private sector as well? Any guild associations?"

Patrick gives all the relevant details without hesitation. He's got nothing to hide and if Vimes wants to do some checking on his own that's okay too. "I trained and served with a few smaller units as well, the kind of sneaky 'behind the lines' warfare that is frowned upon by the gentleman officer types. I even had a turn as a field medic...well, more like an assistant really, but Igor would let me work up a few alone if there were too many wounded."

_Don't go off sounding all cocky now...tone it down a bit._

"I know that I'm new to the city and have a lot to learn, but trust me - I won't give you any grief. Point me to the training yard and I'll fall in just like any other recruit."

Vimes looks at Patrick for a moment, studying the man sitting before him and suggests that maybe some of the more basic training can be waived. He even suggests an assignment along side an experienced officer as a kind of - break in trial.

"Uh, sir...if you don't mind, I already met one of your officers today. A sergeant...her name is Jeannie? Maybe..."

A few minutes later Patrick is standing outside the Watch House...

_First day in town and I've got a job, a lead on places to stay...this is almost too easy. Now where'd Jeannie...er..Sarge, get to?_

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drawing closer to the yard, Jeannie sees Patrick outside. She wanders up to him and asks him how it went with Vimes.

After hearing Patricks news she nods

"ok then so I've got myself a rookie eh? Well lance-constable, I need to make a report to Vimes and then I suggest we go and find Captain Carrot. I'll brief you on the way"

Jeannie went up to Vimes office, knocked and entered. She showed him a copy of the clacks, his reaction was understandable but probably heard all the way back in Sto Lat. Once that was out of the way, Vimes informed her that the new recruit Patrick had been assigned to work with her, she nodded and informed Vimes that she would brief Patrick on the case in hand. Saluting, she turned and walked out of the office and met again with Patrick at the front of the building.

As they proceeded through the streets, Jeannie filled in Patrick on the situation. From the first attempted murders, Mrs Wizzards abduction, the clues leading back to Sto Lat and their experiences there. She didn't tell him about Minette, and the reason she was in Ankh Morpork in the first place...he hadn't asked and it was incredibly painful to talk about.

She also showed him the clacks message, and explained that was why they needed to find Carrot and was also the reson he had been so rudely dumped as soon as they had got to the watch house.

Once she had finished she fell silent, partly to give him a chance to process it all but also because she was thinking about Minette, the only sound was their footfalls as they proceeded through the streets of the city

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick looks at the message and can't make head or tails out of the code at the bottom.

_No groupings. Can't see a repeating pattern..._

"I've heard the name Vetinari mentioned. It says here he has a friend that may be able to lend a hand. Any chance of seeing this guy today?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After taking a quick glance at Ponder, the Priest seemed to reach a conclusion regarding the young wizard. While he was leading the way, the priest took ou a pamphlet from his pocket and scribbled as neatly as he could, while leaning on a wall: Note to self: follow instructions on pamphlet & tell others.  
To add some credibility, the priest added: Yrs truly, Ponder.  
It was one of the basic pamhlets with instructions regarding the location of the temple and concerning the possibility of free food (lemons, but that wasnt mentioned) and beverages. Depending on the type of pamphlet, there were other free things too. The priest sneakily slipped the pamphlet into one of Ponders handy pockets. His grin became even wider, although that seemed impossible

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I had considerd trying to see Vetinari, but I'm doubtful if the Patricion of the City would give up his valuable time for a Sergeant who has been in town for all of five minutes. I'm hoping that Carrot will take it to him, he has a more established relationship with the Patrician"

As they carried on Jeannie sighed "I just wish I knew where to find him"

She tried to subtly sniff as they walked, trying to pick up Carrots scent. She had no idea how Patrick would react if he knew his sergeant was a werewolf, so best not to drop it into the conversation yet, ending a sentence with 

"and by the way I turn into a wolf at the full moon...oh and try not to bleed around me it turns me into a slavering predator" tended to lose more friends than it made

------------------------------------------------------

As Mrs. Wizzard trailed along behind Ponder, she notices the pamphlet hanging from his pocket and the scribbled message. Regardless of everything, she found herself trying not to laugh.

He leads the two of them into the room containing the giant machine that is Hex. Mrs. Wizzard carefully places the clacks next to the FTB and walks over to the speaking tube.

"Hex, do you know what this message means?"

There was a moment of silence before the ants started skittering around and Hex's pen began to write. After a minute or two it stops again. Mrs. Wizzard leans over to read.

Yes 

"..." Nothing happened. "...sigh What does it mean?"

The quill wrote and stopped.

Someone's blackmailing dwarves 

Mrs. Wizzard sighs again, removes the clacks, tears off the top portion, and replaces the part containing the cryptic message.

"What does this part mean?"

The quill begins to write, but after a moment the scribbling continues btu no ink is on the paper. This caused the final result to read:

It means that

Ponder sighed. "Hold on, I need to replaced the empty inkwell" He did so and spoke to Hex.

"Please repeat what you just wrote" A few minutes went by but the ants hadn't moved.

"Hex?"

Another few moments and then it started writing again.

Are you just using me 

"What?" scribble, scribble, scribble

I don't feel you are treating me right 

"You're a machine, you can't feel _anything!_" scribble, scribble

You don't care about me 

"Don't you use that tone with me!" angry scribble, angry scribble

Waaahh 

Seeing that this was getting them nowhere, Mrs. Wizzard grabs the clacks and leads the priest out while Ponder is arguing with Hex.

"Come on," she says, once they get outside, " We'd better go tell Jeannie that we need to talk to Vetinari

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Whoa, Vetinari is the Patrician. Okay, so much for that. You're right, we don't rate."

_If this Captain Carrot is like any other Captan I know..._

"Well, if this Carrot is like every other Captain I know, he's probably off doing captainy things"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The thing is with Carrot is he dosn't seem to be like any other Captain, Watch officer or human being...or dwarf"

Something suddenly clicked in Jeannies brain

"Of course! The Dwarf Bread museum! I heard him talking to Nobby about his disappointment in the lack of volunteers since the Curator was killed, he pops in every day to check on...well, I'm not sure why fossilised bread needs caring for but it evidently does. I'm sure it's worth a try looking for him there"

They head towards the Dwarf Bread museum, as they walk Jeanie again becomes aware of the feeling of being watched..

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"A museum...dedicated to Dwarf bread? You're serious?"

Patrick is trying to understand what he's been told and wants to be helpful, but not knowing this town means having no contacts. No contacts means no info...

_Jeannie looks a little distracted..._

Lowering his voice he says,

"Jea - er Sarge. Stop here a second. Show me this store front."

Leaning a bit closer, but still trying to show a casual demeanor he adds...

"What's going on?"

He pretends to look the storefront over...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking along, Mrs. Wizzard spots Jeannie in front of the Dwarf museum and rushes up to her.

"Jeannie, I'm afraid Hex wasn't of much help," she says. When Jeannie asks why she says, "Well..Let's just say it's going through a sort of..midlife crisis." Even Mrs. Wizzard couldn't believe how ridiculous that sounded. "Anyway, I fear we might have to ask Vetinari, later." She just now notices Patrick. "Oh, hello, again," she says smiling

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Well, I believe that Vimes could contact the Patrician...no?  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie talks in a low but casual manner to Patrick

"To put it simply, we are being followed. I had a similar feeling outside the watch house, trust me, I'm...very sensitive to these things.

I'm not sure if they are hostile, so far it seems to be purely observational, but I'm good at making enemies lately so be on your guard"

She sees Mrs Wizzard approaching and is soon told about the problem with Hex

"a mid life crisis?ooo-kay...  
We were just on our way to find Carrot, not only does he need to be told about the situation but I was hoping he could take the code to Vetinari

We were thinking he may be at the Dwarf Bread Museum. Vimes has been shown the message too"

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Patrick looks a little puzzled as he greets the young woman he first saw this morning in the tavern..

"Oh, hello...again."

He wonders about the arrival of the woman and then does a double take as he see the priest walk up with her..

_Oh gods no...I hope he doesn't go on about lemons again..._

"Mornin' sir."

Patrick grows a little concerned about standing out in the open...

"Um. Tell ya what. Let's play a game. You head on over to find your...uh...Captain Carrot, and I'll play tail-end Charlie and try to see if we're being tailed. Just don't lose me, okay?  
I'll wait about a minute before following you."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie is unsure, the guy has only been in the Watch for literally minutes...then she reminded herself he's hardly a novice, he has plenty of background experience to fall back on.

Reluctantly she agrees, it's the sensible course of action...

"Ok, but if there is any trouble just give a short sharp whistle...trust me, I'll hear you"

With the other walking with her she carries on to the Dwarf museum

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick smiles, waves 'good-bye' to the trio and pats the priest on the back as they walk away.

Turnng back to the store window he looks, but only at the reflections of the people milling around on the street...

_Okay. Now it's time to play. Someone obviously distracted by the split up. Someone trying to make up their mind as to who to follow. Someone suddenly ducking behind a cart or corner..._

Nothing.

Patrick bends over and grabs a stone off the road, something to waste time. Turning slowly he casually walks in the same direction his new friends...he can make them out ahead.

_Someone trying to look too aloof..._

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Keeping the pace deliberately slow so not to lose Patrick, Jeannie ponders for a while.

She looks at her companions, the Priest is still wearing his manic grin which is not quite as worrying as it should be, she was beginning to warm to him...once you got past the completely insane religious zeal he was pretty likable

Mrs Wizzard was surprisingly calm given recent events, Jeannie still felt a huge debt to her. She had saved Jeannie from the silver chain that Carcer had wrapped around her neck, possibly only another werewolf could understand the sheer agony that had pierced every nerve in her body at the contact of the metal...she absently mindedly rubbed the, now healing, scar that was still visible around her neck

For a moment her thoughts returned to Jake and the encounter last night.

Forcing her thoughts to snap back to business, she tried to sense what she could from what was going on around them, As the Dwarf Bread Museum came into view she finallly smelt Carrots scent coming out of a side street and heading towards the museum...it was nice to be right sometimes  
---------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard hummed to herself as she walked along with the other two. Things were going pretty well considering someone had' been trying to kill them all. If she suddenly died, she'd be dying happy.

_Dammit, girl! don't jinx it!_ shouted her conscience. She silently made a note to talk to an Igor about these darn voices in her head. After a moment of thought, she made a note to talk herself out of seeing an Igor at all.

When they arrived at the Dwarf Bread museum, Mrs. Wizzard looked up at the building.

"Wow, they really do have a place for everything in Ankh-Morpork"

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Arriving at the Dwarf Bread Museum, they waited a while for Patrick to re-join them

"Anything unusual back there?"

He shook his head, there had been no obvious signs from anyone on the street. Jeannie had been aware of the feeling as they walked over here, that meant that whoever, or whatever it was that was following them had managed to track them but stay completely out of view of Patrick. She couldn't smell anything that gave them away and that was odd. It suggested that the person knew about her, and was staying out of her human range...but how?

As she scanned the street her gaze fell on the various shapes up in the rooflines, there was a definite movement as though someone had ducked out of view  
Aha, gotcha!

"I think I've spotted our 'friend'. I'm going to assume for now there are no hostile intentions, they must have had a clear shot from up there countless times by now yet nothing has happened...never the less I think we should all get inside as soon as possible"

Jeannie made a mental note to come back here tonight, the scent should be detectable in wolf form.

Allowing her friends to go first, they entered the museum

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To be honest, despite the fact the day had only really started a few hours ago, it hadn't been a good one for Jake. He hadn't slept much last night, he had encountered a wolf he wasn't sure he wanted to attack or attract and then he had been approached by someone he knew all too well and someone he would sooner have left behind in Uberwald. Of course it was worse than that, if he was here then his masters were here as well and that was never a good sign.

It seemed to Jake that ever since someone had smacked him on the head and bundled him off to Sto Lat, a deed he thought a bit unfair and also, other than a far too elaborate practical joke, there seemed little reason for. A thought suddenly came to him, it seemed pointless unless his presence in the city would scupper someone's plans? But still it seemed a great deal of effort.

All of a sudden his aimless wanderings were interrupted by a highly polished breastplate. So enthralled in his own thoughts had he been that he had not seen the very imposing figure of…Captain Carrot. Jake took a step back as the smiling face turned to look at him, perhaps he hadn't noticed him.

"Hello Mr Jake."

There was no one else ANYWHERE that called him Mr Jake. Taking a look around Jake saw that his meandering had brought him to the front of the Dwarf Bread Museum.

"Come to see the exhibits?"

Carrot continued when Jake appeared not to be able to speak.

"Uhh…." Was all he managed before Carrot patted him on the back.

"Some very interesting bagels and the throwing muffins have just all been catalogued."

Jake had often had run-ins with the watch, he could deal with suspicion, dislike and the look of just desserts but, Carrots disappointment always made him feel like a 'very bad boy'. It was hard not to cringe and put his tail between his legs, even when he wasn't a wolf.

"Oh, I nearly forgot, I think that Angua is looking for you, I think something was stolen from the warehouse you guard at nights, I don't suppose you saw anything did you."

Jake's mind was still racing, it seemed that his entire life had been turned upside down and smacked repeatedly. The scents of Jeannie, Mrs Wizard, the Priest and one he had scented by the café floated to him then and he turned to look into the entrance of the Dwarf Bread Museum

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once inside the building Jeannie relaxed, she didn't know who was on that roof but she felt better for not being an open target if the mood took them, more importantly, she felt better for her friends not being vunerable. Carrot had heard them arriving and walked over to the little group.

Jeannie showed him the message from Gigio, and told him about the hostile dwarves in Sto Lat.  
Predictably, his reaction was one of dismay and concern.

He agreed that the Patrician could be able to find help with the code and that he would take it to the palace immediatly.

He led the group back out of the museum, Jeannie was the first one out. As she stepped back onto the street a, by now very familiar scent, stopped her in her tracks.

She turned, and indeed there was Jake, stood talking to Carrot. Still unsure what to say to him after last nights intense encounter, she stood and waited for her companions to catch up.

As she looked over again, she found herself looking straight into his eyes...the last time that had happend they had been squaring up to fight

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake looked into those eyes and the expression held in his own was different. She was a watch officer and he was not, that in itself had brought a division between the two and last nights escapades had made Jake further withdraw from the woman who had thrown him a cloak when he needed one. Carrot Repeated his question.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't in the city then, I was hit and then woke up in Sto Lat."

Carrot's brow furrowed and he looked thoughtful.

"You were attacked and then Kidnapped? That's a very serious crime."

Jake shook his head, realising that he'd made a mistake, Carrot would want him to make a statement and Jake wasn't willing to do that.

"No, it's not important, but I wasn't able to guard the warehouse while I was in Sto Lat….Uh…Angua isn't to mad is she?"

Carrot looked confused, Jake knew it would be easier to run, but then it would just drag everything out and he would eventually get caught again.

"No, she's just curious and would like to talk to you about it. So someone attacked you? Do you know what they looked like?"

Jake shook his head and wished that he could have paid attention to where he had been walking

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She could read the look in his eyes loud and clear, it was strange how even though she was in plain clothes all he seemed to see when he looked at her was 'watchman'.  
Mind you, Patrick had spotted her status straight away too. Ah well, better to be a watch officer than what she was before she joined...

She should have just minded her own business when she had seen him in Sto Lat, it's not like he had even thanked her...no, that was childish. He had needed help so she had helped him, it was nothing to do with gratitude.

Jeannie strained her ears to overhear the conversation...guarding? sounds like he was in trouble over it. She watched with interest, she had never seen Jake so uncomfortable as Carrot quizzed him.  
Right now however she was more concerned about getting to the bottom of who was following them. She stood back and scanned the roofs...nothing

She asked Patrick if he could see anything...nothing

so who ever it was had gone for now. She made a note of the spot she had seen the movement, she intended to go up there later

She walked over to Carrot

"Captain, I'm going to take the lance-constable around the city, it's a good idea for him to get familiar with his surroundings.I'll ask Mrs Wizzard to come with us, she's alot more familiar with the city than I am . We'll report back at the watch house later"

"Good idea Sergeant" Carrot replied "I'll pass on the message to Lord Vetinari. I'm certain he knows a chap who can help us"

"Thankyou sir. And I'll keep checking the clacks for more news from Gigio"

With that Jeannie walked back to her companions

"OK then, lets go on a little tour"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick looks once again at the people walking past on the street and gives a quick glance up toward the roof-line

_Well, Jeannie certainly spotted someone. It was worth a shot anyway..._

"A tour you say? Excellent! As long as it ends eventually close to someplace with a pillow, blanket and the possibilty of a decent dinner later on..."

"By the way, who was our nervous friend back there? I could almost see the blood drain from his face when the Captain spoke with him. You'd think he'd seen a werewolf or something."

_Last time I saw a werewolf I was a kid. Scared me pretty good then and I still get the heebie-jeebies thinking of it now..._

Looking at his new travelling companions he sidles up along with the woman that arrived with the priest...

"I take it everything is okay this morning? No sudden conversions or anything? By the way, my name is Patrick. Looks like I may be here for awhile."

He then remembers..

"Dwarf? You said that Carrot was dwarf? You sure about that...

--------------------------------------

"Our nervous friend is a , um, man named Jake. We met him back at Sto Lat, helped him out and now he wants nothing to do with us...so that tells you all you need to know about him"

Jeannie surprised herself at the bitterness in her own voice, and decided a quick change of subject was in order

"Carrot is technically a dwarf _and_ a human. From what I've been told he was found by dwarves when he was tiny and they raised him in their mine. He's probably one of the most...unique individuals you could ever meet."

They walked around the city, getting familiar with people and places with Mrs Wizzard doing a running commentary. After a while Jeannie realised Patrick was probably exhausted after his travels, after all he'd gone straight into the watch. After asking directions from Mrs Wizzard they arrived at a place where he could rent a room.  
------------------------------

"Well, if you remember anything then please let me know and I'm sure Angua will be around to ask you if you are available to come down and make a statement."

Jake sighed and knew that he wouldn't be able to get out of it. He nodded and turned away. The invitation that he'd received was still sitting on the small table by his bed, it was for tonight and he knew they would not be pleased if he declined it.

Entering the his room he saw the small parcel on his bed and also noted the strong scent that matched the invitation. He opened the next bottle of bear huggers and allowed the scent of the whisky to conceal the scent of the package. Opening it, he saw the clothing they obviously expected him to wear. This was all very strange, something was going on and he couldn't put his finger on it

---------------------------------------

Having walked Patrick to the lodgings, Jeannie was about to bid him farewell until tomorrows shift when she smelt it

_oh no, not again_

it was Jakes scent.

She asked the landlady about her other lodgers and was told that yes indeed there was a young man with dark hair who lodged here. The smell of Bearhuggers confirmed who it was

Jeannie rolled her eyes, and hastily left the house.

As she hurried past a window the smell of Bearhuggers reached an almost eye watering level, she glanced through the window. Yep, it was him...there was a piece of paper on a small table near the window, the very faint scent that she caught from it sent her mind racing...it couldn't be!? he had said...he had lied to her!

Think fast, she needed an excuse to knock on his door and "I know you lied to me about my sisters murderer you bastard!!" was not going to cut it

Of course, he still had some of Gigios clothes, she could call on the pretence that Gigio asked her to pick them up

Trying to ignore the acid thoughts running through her mind she re-enterd the house assumed a smile and knocked on Jakes door

--------------------------------------------------------------

Jake froze when he heard the knock, he certainly wasn't expecting anyone. Taking the bundle of clothes he stuffed them into a chest before calling out.

"Who is it?"

He couldn't believe it when he heard her voice, was the woman stalking him?

"Just a second."

He grabbed the note and stuffed it away before going to the door and opening it.

"Hey, wow it seems we have a tendency to bump into one another, despite the size of the city."

------------------------------------------------

With a smile that could be considerd altogether too pleasant, if not slightly wolverine, Jeannie enterd the room

"Yes we do don't we? well, rest assured that after I've collected Gigios clothes I'll certainly do my best to stay well out of your sight"

As Jake gatherd the garments, she looked around at the table, the note was gone.

huh, what a surprise,she thought cynically

Taking the clothes from Jake, she turned to leave then made a show of remembering something.  
As she turned back to him, her hand held the piece of cloth which she had taken to keeping with her in case any leads came up

Not breaking eye contact for a second she held it out to him again and asked him again

"It dosn't hurt to be certain. Are you _sure _you have never smelt this scent?"

--------------------------------------------------------------

Jake looked at the cloth and knew that she had scented the smell in his room. He wasn't a nasty guy, in fact he considered himself one of the nicer ones, but he had his own demons and she had stumbled across a big one. He already knew she thought him contemptible, well that was her prerogative but he did not wish to add to her stoked fire and if he told her that he had watched, in fact been part of the hunt that had killed her sister? He took the cloth and made a show of taking a deep breath and pausing.

"I'm sorry Jeannie, I can't help you."

His apology was sincere, his father's scent made him want to gag, but he made no move to add to what he had said, instead he stood and held the cloth out to her again

----------------------------------------------

Patrick is glad to have a home - such as it is, a job, new friends and is especially grateful for the mattress he slumps down onto...

_First things first though...an organized camp is easily defended..._

Reaching into his bag he pulls out two small daggers that fit easily into his boots and places them next to the bed on the floor...within arms reach ofcourse. Next comes out the bag of gold pieces which immediately gets put into his jacket pocket... _Enough for another month or two maybe..._

His aid bag gets hung on the bed-post and as he hangs it, remembers the day Igor gave it to him...

_Keep you handth clean, your bandageth dry and you needlth tharp...you'll be okay...probably._

Finally, his last change of clothes go onto the only other piece of furniture in the room, a lopsided old chair he wouldn't try to sit on...ever.

He keeps one other item in the bag, half out of habit, half out of trying to forget he even has it...still.

As he pulls off his boots and hooks his jacket onto a hook on the door, he almost swears he can hear Jeannie's voice just down the hall.

_A full blown sergeant no less. _

His eyes close as soon as he hits the mattress. Just a few hours...just a few...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

taking back the cloth, she simply replies...

"I'm sorry too"

She ignored the voice inside which was baying for blood and screaming... _you're sorry! you're sorry!??I begged you for help, I cried infront of you!You told me you knew nothing, you LIED!!She was my little sister!!_

She left his room, went out to the streets and forced herself to walk back to her own lodgings

Her mind reeling she went to her room, sat for a while and finally managed to begin to think rationally, his apology had sounded genuine, it really had sounded like he was sorry he couldn't help.

She decided what she had to do, she ate, washed and packed her little pouch with emergency clothing. Then she headed back towards Jakes lodgings.

Finding a convienent place to sit among the nooks in the rooftops that gave her a good view of both his window and the door, whilst fully concealing her presence,she waited. Something was going on, something to do with Minnies murderer, that made it both personal and business, after all she was here to find the person who had done it under orders from Captain Tantony.

As the evening drew in she waited and watched...

----------------------------

For a long while Jake stood there saying nothing, looking at the door Jeannie had gone out of. He had been trained to be a killer, what else was there to it? He been taught how to protect the family, he had been educated in letters and numbers, and then they had turfed him out, but they were still the only family he had. Opening the chest he pulled out the clothing he had been sent. It was a richly made cloak that enfolded him completely and pinned at the shoulder by a black wolfs head on a black moon background, the wolf head had little silvery crystals which made them glint. It was never something he would have worn now, but then it was his father's symbol.

The cloak made him look a completely different person, more regal, more aloof and very dangerous. He scowled at his reflection and heard a knock at the door again.

"Come in."

It was his land lady, apparently there was a coach waiting for him at the front. He closed his eyes, why had they had to send a coach? No he knew why, because people would see him getting into a coach and would think him rich and they would try and fleece him, just another way they thought to make his life harder. The driver didn't even look at him and as he opened the door the scent of his half brother wafted out and engulfed him. He was tall dark and handsome, everything a werewolf was supposed to be apparently, but there were certainly resemblances between Jake and him.

"Hello Bro."

The werewolf in the coach said, he smiled, it almost seemed genuine. Jake said nothing, he just got in and closed the door, wishing he could get rid of all the butterflies that seemed to be fluttering around in his guts.

-------------------------

Jeannie heard the coach clatter up to the house, and she saw Jake come out, For a moment she was taken aback, he looked...different, but not in a good way.

When the door of the coach was opened, Jeannie caught the scent of the other werewolf even from her vantage point up on the roof, she suppressed a growl...this was not like Jakes scent, it was tinged with malevolence

Even from here she could sense Jakes fear, and it was fear not just nerves. So, he wasn't happy about doing...whatever he was doing. Something to consider anyway

As the coach moved away Jeannie dropped softly down to ground level and carefully followed the coach.It didn't matter that it was out of sight, she had her nose and even in human form it could detect the scent from that coach as easily as finding a chicken farm

she followed in cautious silent pursuit

--------------

Mrs. Wizzard was roaming the city again. Walking in the streets, she nearly got hit by a coach but leapt out of the way just in time (of course, it wouldn't be dramatic if she jumped any sooner) When she hit the ground she caught sight of the passenger.

"Was that-" she was cut of when she saw who was following it. Shaking her head, Mrs. Wizzard stood, blew some imaginary dust off her robes, and watched them go.

--------------------------------------------------------

Jake heard the muffled cry of the coach driver as he shouted for someone to get out of the way, there was no swerve in the coach and he didn't hear a thud, but he could see the near miss with death the person must have had.

"So, you're calling yourself Jake now huh? Well Jake, no hello? No how are you doing? It's been a long time."

Jake glowered at the figure sitting opposite he could feel a growl threatening, but he suppressed it, he was being goaded and he knew it, best say nothing at all.

"Aw, Jake you're no fun when you're like this, dad's here you know, he's got some good news for you."

Jake felt a two emotions very distinctly then, both of them very contradictory. He felt fear grip him and he also felt illation. His father wanted to see him? How long had it been?

"Well he's got a funny way of showing it, sending you to collect me?"

The other werewolf laughed and fell silent, still smiling, he looked like an idiot, he was an idiot. The thought brought a smile of his own. He watched the scenes of the city flash past, he knew where they were going his family's Ankh-Morpork estates. The coach slowed and paused for a moment, before starting up again. They were entering the gates, which he saw closing behind them.

----------------------------------

Making her way through the city, Jeannie followed the coaches trail. As it began to dawn on her where it had gone she felt a cold heavy feeling spread inside her.

She stood a way back from the gates, there was absolutely no way she was getting any closer, she may be head strong at times but she wasn't stupid. This was the von Uberwalds Ankh Morpork estate.

Her family has been locked in a vicious and bloody feud with the Barons clan for years, the scent of her on their property would result in alot of blood...and not just theirs she thought to herself with a humourless smile.

Strangely she wasn't angry at Jake, maybe it was the fear she had felt from Jake when he got in the coach that brought him here that was making her think. In the short time she'd known him she had seen many sides to him but she had never seen him actually frightened.

He had lied to her about the scent, and that stung. She did not like to show weakness,yet she had begged him with tears in her eyes to help her if he could...and he had lied. That made her own pride bruised, she was a strong werewolf who had turned her back on her own pack and to ask for help like that had not been easy

And from what she could tell he was a von Uberwald. It would be very unlikely for them to welcome a non-clan werewolf onto their property so she had to assume that he was in fact part of the clan.

Although she wouldn't actively pursue the feud between the von Uberwalds and her own clan the von Adalwulfs, being brought up to hate anyone with the Barons blood in their veins does leave a certain impression and she found herself beginning to growl at the thought of them sat in there.Minnies murderer had sent Jake that invitation, she knew that because it had been all over the note. Maybe the murderer was inside there now! The Wolf wanted blood, she felt her fur wanted to grow and her claws trying to lengthen.

No! Can't do this alone. Go away, think, plan..now!

She forced her feet to start moving away from the estate, her mind spinning with this new information.

Walking slowly through the streets, she was lost in thought...her mind was all over the place

------------------------------------------

_Food_

That wasn't the first thought tht usually entered into patrick's mind upon waking, but today it would do..

_No...wash up first, then food._

Ah, the primitive male mind.

Getting up from the bed, Patrick washes up in the basin on the table. Putting on the clothes he left on the chair, he grabs for his boots and the daggers...

_Huh, Never did bother to ask where a good place for dinner was..._

Throwing on his coat he leaves the room and heads out into the city...

_I guess I could try the Mended drum again...uh...was it a right a the corner or a left?_

Patrick walks along the city streets gradually finding his way along. Jeannie was a good tour guide..

--------------------------------------

In the confusion that was her mind, one thought came through loud and clear "Need a drink"

She headed to the Mended drum, orderd a beer, looked at it, told the barman in no uncertain terms that she wanted a beer that was not made from slops and rat piss, got a decent beer and found a nice dark corner where she could sit and think

Ok, so the trail had been picked up again,hah it would have been picked up alot sooner if...no, that wasn't going to help.  
The problem was the trail led back to the von Uberwalds, and Jeannie was a lone wolf. Where to go from here? How to deal with it...and she _would_ deal with it. She owed it to Minnie

---------------------------------

Entering the Mended Drum Patrick realizes quickly this may not be the best place to eat in.

Almost turning to leave, he spots Jeannie sitting alone at a table.

_Oh, well now. Wonder what she's up to?_

" Hey sar- Jeannie. What's going on? You look a bit serious. Any news on your case?"

Patrick has always been of the mind that if his services are needed he will gladly provide them.  
But now, as a member of the Watch, he'll have to be mindful of his ways...

------------------------------------------------

"Hey Patrick. No news on the brothers case, but..."

Heistating, she wonderd if she should mention her other case.Well, he was a watch officer and she could do with sounding it all out to someone.

She motioned for him to sit down and orderd him a drink.

Taking a deep breath she began

" When we first met, you asked me what brought me here? Well,I'm from the new Watch in Uberwald, I'm here on the trail of a murderer.  
A while ago, I was in Uberwald looking for someone who had gone missing. I tracked her to near the river, during my search I saw a body floating face down in the river. It was the person I was looking for, she had been attacked...there was a knife wound across her neck and in her chest. In her clenched hand was a piece of material, she must have ripped it from her murderer during the attack."

The grief caused her to stop for a second or too, she stared into her drink as she continued

"Captain Tantony assigned me the case because I have cough special skills...and because the victim was my sister..."

She stopped and took a gulp of beer,

"Her name is..was, Minette.I'd tracked her murderer to this city, then the trail led me to Sto Lat, but then I lost it. So I came back here to help with the brothers case and try and find new leads about Minnies killer.And I've found a new lead alright, turns out our 'nervous friend' Jake has been holding out on me. He knows the killer..."

Her voice trailed off

--------------------------------------------------

_Her sister. That's rough..._

"Sorry to hear about your sister...

Patrick had seen some death, but lacking any 'real' family he couldn't really know what Jeannie was going through.

"But you say Jake knows the killer? I take it this is something we can follow up on?"

Although he's not sure why, he gets the feeling he just sped right by something else he should be asking.

"Can we go get him? I mean, bring him in for a few questions? If you know where he is, let's go!"

Patrick gets he idea that if this was easily done, he wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation with Jeannie.

"Let me ask though...You said Jake knows the one responsible. How does he know him? How close is he to whoever it is?"

He reaches for the drink on the table and thinks to himself

_Bounty hunting is so easy; see the guy, get the guy, deliver the guy. Bumps and bruises don't matter. I wonder how much wiggle room we've got here with our Captain Carrot?_

-----------------------------------------------------------------

When the coach stopped the door was opened by an old, but surprisingly athletic gentlemen who bowed as Jake and his 'escort' climbed down. Jake looked up at the entrance and felt that, by now familiar mix of nerves and curiosity. On either side of the stairs leading up to the main door were to large stone slabs each one supporting, what looked like, a large stone wolf. The only thing that gave them away was the shallow movement of their chests and, to another werewolf their scents. These were the guardians of the entrance and woe betide any intruder, he never seen them in action, but he really hoped the he never had to.

Often when you return to a childhood place it seems smaller, to Jake the place seemed larger than ever. The heavy curtains, stain glass windows and of course the obligatory portrait of some dead woman with huge….teeth were carefully scattered around the main hall. An Igor made a creaky sort of a bow, Jake wished he hadn't it always made him envision Igor's head falling off.

"Hello Igor." Jake said, trying to sound relaxed

"Good afternoon Mathter." Came the polite reply.

Jake had been kicked out all those years ago, not acknowledged by the family but still Igor called him master.

"Thith way pleathe."

Saying nothing Jake followed through the maze of passageways, his mind remembering the last time he had been here. His musings were interrupted by a blur that hurtled towards him, launching itself at him. Despite himself he flinched and felt the floor rush up to meet him. Eyes closed he realised who it was just by her scent, a smile spread across Jake's face as he opened his eyes and looked into her eyes. Sasha was his half sister and the only one that had treated him as family indeed seemed to hold affection for him.

"Well it's about time you showed up, I've been told father has good news for you."

He swatted her off and stood, he felt unsure again, so he was going to see his father.

"Well I guess I won't find it out if I am attack at every corner."

She laughed

"Find me once you're done in there."

He nodded and continued to follow Igor.

Of course his father had to be tall and of course, there had to be a log fire and he had to be standing looking out of the window, it was tradition for conversations like these

-----------------------------------------------------

If Patrick had been having an interesting time up to this point, that was nothing compared to this. He sat there staring at Jeannie for a few seconds, not sure what to say.

_A werewolf. Did she just say werewo- nooooo._

" I'm sorry. Did you just say you...

_Shut up moron!_

"Um. Look, I'm just a little surprised okay? I..I don't have a problem with that, it's just that I haven't seen a real werewolf since I was a kid and...

_And you're still willing to admit being just a little freaked out?_

"..so I'm not really sure what I should say. Or do."

_Hey, she is your training officer and has helped you out more than anyone else in the last year of your life - give her a break!_

"Can I start over? No problem. You're a werewolf and I'm...not. Fine. Now. Uuuh, you said if you go to get him right now that could be bad. If _you_ go. So what happens if someone else goes? Let's or...you, being the ranking member here, put a squad together or something and I'll...I mean we'll go and get him."

_Oh sure. Next thing you'll be telling her you once took on a troll single handedly..._

"Better yet. Maybe we don't have to go get him, all we have to do is watch him for a little bit, get him alone and talk...quietly. Reason with him. Civilized and such."

_A werewolf huh?! Well, she's been alright. And she gets along with the priest an the Mrs Wizzard woman. I wonder if they know?_

----------------------------------------------------

Another gulp of beer,

"Well thats where we run into a few problems. Who the killer is, and what Jakes relationship is with him I'm still unsure, but I suspect it's one of the von Uberwald family, which means that if I go and try and get him in for questioning right now I will find myself surrounded by my familys sworn enemies which would get very, very messy"

She sighs, this was never an easy conversation to have, ah well here goes

"I know for certain that Jake knows the killer because I smelt the killers scent on a note in Jakes room.  
look, you are going to find out eventually if we are going to be working together...I'm a werewolf."

she sat back, watching Patrick, waiting to see what his reaction was going to be

-------------------------------------------

Despite her mood she couldn't help but grin at his reaction, she'd had much worse in the past

"You took that pretty well considering, alot of people tend to look around for the nearest bit of silver"

Finishing her drink, she leant back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling as she spoke

"I don't think I'd get very far questioning him, and he seems to hate the Watch so any official enquiry would just get him defensive. To be honest,if I approached him I think he would get defensive anyway"

She motioned to the Barman for another beer, and continued

"I have to find out what he knows! He's my only link to her killer, but I don't know how to to convince him to tell me...argh, this is so frustrating!"

-----------------------------------

The room was getting dark, there were no lights in the room and the afternoon was getting on. In the centre of the it stood Jake, the conversation had been long but seemed to pass in a blur and only a one line of his father's speech seemed to be burnt into his memory. Jake's entire body felt numb, he wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there, but it felt like an eternity. When the knock came he tried to answer, but there was no moisture in his mouth to speak, it opened anyway and Sasha slipped in, closing the door again behind her. Seeing the lack of expression in his face he saw her grow concerned and move towards him.

"Was it good news?"

She asked in a cautious whisper.

There was no need to whisper, but it's a well known fact that the bigger the room and the fewer the occupants the more people want to speak in 'hushed tones'. 

"Don't you know already?"

Her face broke into a smile and to her credit she coloured slightly, but her face grew serious again.

"Aren't you pleased?"

Now there was a question, how to react to such a thing.

"I'm confused."

She nodded and stayed silent, eventually though it was Jake that broke it again.

"I need to go back to my lodgings."

As he walked towards the door Sasha took his hand in hers.

"If it was up to me, it would have happened a long time ago. Why don't you stay here, we can talk and get reacquainted."

Jake shook his head.

"Maybe tomorrow, I just need sometime to take it all in, I will see you soon though okay?"

He could tell that she was still unsure, so was he, but he couldn't be here at the moment. He left, the guards their slabs not even appearing to notice him. The walk back to his lodgings was a long one, but who would mess with a werewolf. He made sure he had taken the clothing they had given him off. He felt like an idiot wearing it through the streets of the city

-------------------------------------------

Patrick wonders aloud for a second..

"You said you smelled a scent in Jakes room. You know where he lives? Right then, I say we wait for him to leave and go in to have a look around. Purely for 'research' purposes only...not in any official capacity."

_She's been in his room._

"We'll see what we can find there. If that doesn't work out...we'll have to improvise."

Looking around to make sure no curious types are listening in..

"Maybe we can get the priest or Mrs Wizzard to talk to him...that is, if Jake didn't notice them earlier at the museum."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

She appreciated the way Patrick tried to find a solution for everything, but she shook her head

"I don't think he'd willingly talk to any of us who were in Sto Lat with him, and he would be able to sme...he would know if we had been in his room. He has the capacity to be dangerous, I don't want him provoked. I'm warning you about that because he lodges in the same house as you. Seriously, don't try anything unless I'm there to back you up"

She realised how strange that must sound to anyone who might have over heard their conversation, a petit woman warning a fully grown man that he would need her protection.

An idea started to form in her mind,

"I think that a conversation with a certain couple of people might prove fruitful, lets head back to the watch house.I'll tell you more on the way"

She stood up and walked out into the fading light of evening

-----------------------------------------------------

_He's in the same house as I am?_

Patrick thought this a little too convenient to pass up.

"Wait, hold on...

Getting up to follow Jeannie he finds he has to jog a little to keep up.

"He shouldn't know who or what I am, I don't even think he saw me this morning. We should be able to use that to our advantage"

Jeannie doesn't answer.

_Going to be easy to tell when she's made up her mind. She must have something cookin' here._

He follows her out onto the streets and listens as she explains her idea.

----------------------------------------------------------

Putting his cloak back into the small chest at the foot of the bed, Jake flops onto the thin mattress and tries to gather his thoughts, always a difficult thing when you can feel the full moon starting to tug, slightly for now true, but he knew it would be irresistible by tonight. So, after all these years he had met his father again, who would have thought it? Not only that but his father had had a great deal to say.

_"Times have changed, as have views and we have looked at our situation and realised that this tradition seems foolish."_

Now, just like that Sasha wanted him to move back in, drop all his things, he looked around the room, well drop his few things and come stay in the house while they worked things out? Perhaps he should, it could be the best move he made and beside it would certainly save on the rent. That's what he would do, in the morning he would leave his lodgings, just for a few days, he could always come back.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, first of all we need to find Sargeant Angua. She is from the von Uberwald bloodline and I know she is familiar with Jake as I over heard him mention her name to Carrot this morning. I need some information from her first, but I think I can see a possible way forward"

Their swift pace through the streets brought them back to the watch house in hardly anytime at all

She knew she wasn't giving much away, they walked upto the main desk.

"Corporal, is Angua in?" The dwarf behind the desk shook his head

"Bugger." Jeannie scribbled a note and sealed it "Can you give this to her when she returns please? Thankyou"

They walked out of the Watch house again, slower this time. As the night began to draw in Jeannie felt the full moon getting stronger.

"In the morning, I think we should go and investigate the place where we saw our mystery observer...if Angua hasn't answerd my message by then of course "

As they neared Patricks lodgings the pull of the moon was getting really strong

"Patrick, I've got to go and..I have to go. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight!"

As she hurried away she knew it must have seemed abrupt but he had been shocked enough when she had told him she was a werewolf, the last thing he needed was to be there when she changed.

She hurried through the streets, her mind clamouring with the events of the day. She rememberd the killers scent in Jakes room and felt again the anger that had been there during the realisation that he was covering for the murderer.He was a von Uberwald? it seemed almost positive...The moon was full.Jeannie felt the wolf emerge, its mind was much stronger than usual, the anger gave it strength.Jeannies human mind struggled against the wolf but was overpowerd by the beast

The wolf ran through the streets, it was angry, it wanted blood.

It threw back it's head and howled

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Patrick was okay with being back at his room. He had only a nap since coming to town and would probably be able to get some sleep tonight.

As he sits on the side of his bed he's startled to hear a howl off in the distance..

_Nah. Couldn't be...then again..._

He knew this was going to be interesting at the very least. Looking back on the last day he was amazed at how much had been done.

Undressing and crawling back onto the mattress he waits for sleep to come.

_I hope she'll be okay tonight._

_I can't believe I'm worried about her. She's a werewolf for cryin' out loud!_

-----------------------------------------------------

Jason heard the how to as he sat on his haunches by the window. Lifting his rear leg he scratched his ear, the wolf was strong tonight, but his human mind was too active to worry about that. Jumping out of the open window, he landed lightly outside and began padding through the streets. He had a guarding job to do and it would give hi ma chance to see if he could notice any scents from people who might have broken in before, he knew it was a long shot, but he couldn't just sit and do nothing, someone had gone to the trouble of sending him to Sto Lat and while he was there people had stolen something from within the warehouse, co-incidence?

Stopping to sniff at a street corner he looked up and down before crossing the street and heading to his warehouse.

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The wolf that was Jeannie ran through the streets, there was blood around her jaws from a couple of dogs who had been unfortunate enough to get in her way. She hadn't killed them but not out of any sense of pity, the wolf had just got bored and moved on.

One of the dogs had got a lucky bite on her leg, it bled quite profusely as she ran, increasing the blood lust with the scent. The wolf was enjoying itself, Jeannie was usually good at staying in control even in wolf form but now the wolf was in charge.The wolf was angry, it didn't know why.But it did know it hadn't felt this free since back in the pack, back in the old country

The tiny part of Jeannie human mind that could still get through managed to steer the wolf towards the city gates, a blood crazed werewolf in a busy city was never good

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Now outside the city gates, the wolf ran into the open spaces on the plain. It chased a few unfortunate rabbits, and ate a couple who were more unfortunate , and slower, than the others.

Snuffling around in the undergrowth she found some interesting new smells, as she followed one of them through the grass she froze.

New smell! werewolf! The scent seemed slightly familiar yet was not one she had encountered before. She looked around until she spotted him, sat a little way off, almost concealed in a small copse.

She gave a warning growl, the message was clear "Go Away"

The other werewolf was either very confident or very stupid. He stood up, and walked almost casually towards her. Her growls intensified "Go Away!!"

Her lips curled back to bare her incisors, the moonlight shining on her fur, she assumed the crouching position ready to attack. He approached further, Jeannie snapped at him and it wasn't a warning. He stopped but did not back away, he almost seemed to be laughing at her. Without warning he lunged at her, Jeannie dodged his attack, spun around and leapt at him...

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Jake sniffed around the entrance and couldn't find anything, it was just a mixture of smells all of them blended so thurroughly together that it was impossible to distinguish one from the other. However, he was the 'watch dog' after all and he knew how to get into the warehouse. Pulling a bolt with his teeth he walked in and began sniffing around.

The place reeked of a huge mixture, but this was private property and was not as busy as the street outside. There was something, then it was gone and there it was again. The scents was hidden under dirt and blood, but it was there and for some reason it smelt familiar, he'd smelt it around the city somewhere before, but he couldn't place the scent. He snorted it out and knew that his wolf mind would be far superior to hi human one for this.

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Jeannie limped back across the plains. She was in a bad way and she knew it, the fight with the other werewolf hadn't gone to the death, but it had been vicious.

He was a lot bigger than her but she was agile and although his attacks had hurt when they had hit her, she had been able to dodge a lot of them and get in plenty of her own. She had emerged the victor, if such a term could be applied, in that he had run first. In her current state that gave her no satisfaction what so ever.

The torrent of rage she had poured into her attack on the strange werewolf had left the wolf weak and the human part of her once again able to stay in control. She was once again, back to her usual self, in control of the wolf.

Trying to limp on two legs, which was pretty much impossible, she slowly made her way back into the city. She was bleeding all over and just wanted to find a quiet place to lick her wounds.

She tried not to yelp as she made her way through the streets, bleeding and sore

-------------------------------------------------------

It had taken him a while, but Jake had finally discovered what had been taken. There were three boxes missing, he had no idea what was in the boxes, but it must have been important for someone to go through so much trouble. The scent of the person that had done it was bothering him as well, he couldn't place it, ut it was familiar, he had smelt it before. Shaking his head he knew it was time to go back to his room and get some sleep, it wasn't as if he got much last night and with all that seemed to be going on, it was hard to think clearly. Making one last circuit of the warehouse he made sure that everything was in order before turning and moving back to what he had been calling home for a while.

The city had it's own rhythm, people scrambled about their own things in time with the beat of its heart. Of course some might say the Ankh was it's lifeblood, but only people who had never seen the Ankh said that, if the Ankh was the city's blood, Ankh-Morpork was on the verge of massive heart attack. Jake's mouth open and his tongue lolled as he tasted the scents on the air. He fancied he could scent Jeannie, it was faint and he assumed it was just the way she had come last night when they had 'met'.

---------------------------------------------------

She tried to keep to the shadows as she slowly limped back towards her lodgings.The bleeding was already beginning to slow, but she was still in alot of pain.

As she came to another street she caught Jakes scent, and saw him walking further down. After the incident last night, she wasn't going to risk going near him. She was covered in blood and wounded, not a good combination if he reacted to her presence like he had done last night.

The scent of the other werewolf was all over her fur after the fight,it still seemed vaguely familiar yet was not one she had smelt before.

A thought hit her, that scent in Jakes coach...her attacker has very similar tones to the werewolf who had been in that coach, so that could mean the werewolf she had fought was possibly one of the Uberwalds from the estate.

maybe Jake would recognise it, maybe he wouldn't...at this moment in time she didn't care.She just wanted to lie down and lick her wounds somewhere safe. She didn't know if he had seen her or not, but still tried to move away as quickly as her injuries would let her.

A nights rest should take care of most of the wounds, werewolves did heal amazingly fast but that was of small comfort to her right now.

she was nearly there now...

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Mrs. Wizzard follows Jeannie into the Watch House and looks around. It had only been a few days since she was last here. Her instincts were telling her to turn around and run like hell. But, that was to be expected, knowing that the people who'd been trying to kill her since she was a child were in the same building as her.

-------------------------------------------------

Jake made no attempt to stop her or Mrs Wizard as they both went into the Watch House. So the trainee had been acting of his own accord, what reason could he possibly have to do such a thing. It was important now, Jeannie had been hurt and it was partly his fault. Doubtless he had been seen with her, or perhaps they smelled her scent on his clothes, for whatever reason they had decided to taunt her.

With heart felt sigh he turned away fro mthe watchhouse, wild horses could not get him in there, although the figure that appeared behind him might, Corporal Carrot stood and smiled at him, Jake got that all too familiar sinking feeling.

-------------------------------------------

With Mrs Wizzard and Patrick, Jeannie went into the watch house. There was a message from Angua at the desk, opening the sealed envelope Jeannie read the contents, nodded to herself and put it in her pocket.

Walking slightly easier already than when she left her lodgings this morning, she joined her companions in the canteen.

She poured herself a good strong coffee and sat down, after a moments contemplation she spoke

"Ok, Mrs Wizzard I think we need to find out more about your brothers involvement with the dwarves. We know Gigio suspects that the dwarves are being blackmailed, are your brothers powerful enough to do this or is it likely they have help from other sources?" she paused, she knew the brothers made Mrs Wizzard uneasy but she had to ask "I think it may be an idea to question them, what do you think?"

She turned to Patrick "I'm also hoping we've got some news on the code, we should try and find Carrot or Vimes soon.They both have regular contact with the Patrician, if anythings been discovered then one of the should know about it. We also need to investigate our mystery observer from yesterday"

She sat back and sipped on her coffee, and couldn't help watching the dwarf officers. Suspicion came pretty naturally to a watch officer, but suspecting your fellow officers didn't. Not being able to trust your comrades was not a pleasant feeling

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Patrick sat and waited for the inevitable chewing that he was going to get. When it didn't come right away he thought..

_Either she's really good at bluffing and isn't too miffed at my nosing around...or I'm just lucky there's other people around right now._

Deciding it would be best to keep his mouth shut for a bit, he focuses on his coffee and watches Mrs Wizzard as she ponders the question put to her by Jeannie.

---------------------------------------------------

"All I knows about my brothers is they have people working for them everywhere. Especially in Sto Lat. I think questioning them is a good idea." She seems to think for a moment. "But, for safety reasons I think there should be at least one guard with a crossbow present if we question them."

------------------------------------------------------

"Make it two guards and we've got a deal"

she pushed her chair back, and stood up

"OK then I think we should go and talk to Vimes about questioning the brothers. Also he may have heard back about the code by now."

The little group leave the canteen, and walk towards the main office, as they walk Jeannie leans towards Patrick and whispers

"You nearly got me, and yourself, in a lot of trouble with Jake back there, I explicitly warned you not to sneak around him. He could be very dangerous if he wanted to be. For the gods sakes don't try anything like that against my orders again..."

Having done her stern Sergeant bit for now, she smiles and pats him on the back,

"...however I don't discourage initiative, just make sure you think it through"

They begin to walk through the main office on the way to see Vimes

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Patrick accepts the warning without a word. He nods to Jeannie and continues to walk with her and Mrs Wizzard.

One part of him wants to say..

_Oh for cryin' out loud! You know Jake and I live in the same house! YOU told me that he knows who killed your sister!...Besides, I was careful...there was a wall and at least six feet of space between us when I noticed him._

Another voice pipes in to say...

_Shut up moron and listen to her. _

A few more steps and Patrick finally asks, "Did someone say crossbow?"

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Mrs. Wizzard stops and turns to Patrick. She looks a bit confused.

"Uh..yeah, we were gonna request a couple of guards stand by with crossbows while we question my brothers. Why do you ask?"

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It was one of those days, the city's smell seemed suffocating, an unpleasant mixture that forced its way down his throat and all he could do was breathe it in. Jake had given his statement, Carrot seeming to be completely unaware of all the watch officers that kept discretely touching, what Jake knew to be concealed silver. He guessed the mistrust came with the territory as well as the family name he thought he had ditched when he'd been thrown out of Uberwald.

Now Jake, that bad ass wolf sat in an alley, his knees pulled up to his chest and he felt tears streaking his face. He was not a heartless guy and seeing Jeannie in that state and knowing it was a member of his own family that had committed such an act tore at him. The worst part was that he was not brave enough to admit it, he hadn't realised until he had been summoned to his family's home how much he had missed it. He missed the sense of belonging, of a place he knew he should be, he longed for a pack, for family and though they weren't the best, the Von Uberwalds were the only family he had. How could he turn his back on that? His head dropped onto his knees and he wish he could make Jeannie understand, but this was his problem, one day a decision would be required, he just hope that he could make the right one.

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Jeannie was only half listening to the conversation between her companions as they made their way to Vimes office. She was wrestling with her thoughts

She was full of conflicting emotions...some of them surprised her. She was pretty sure that Jake knew who had attacked her last night. The scent had been all over her afterwards, but just like with the cloth he wouldn't tell her...that should make her angry but it didn't. Maybe it was the look of concern she'd seen in his eyes, it showed her that although he wouldn't be dis-loyal to his family he wasn't happy with their actions...she remembered that feeling herself from back in the old days, in her own family...bitter memories threatened to creep out of the dark places where they had been buried

Her thoughts were interrupted by the realisation that they had reached the office.

she shook her head as if it would help dislodge the thoughts and knocked on Vimes door

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I'M WELL - STOP - NO MORE ACTION HERE - STOP - CHECKED A TON OF MESSAGES - STOP - ALMOST BORED -STOP - ANY NEWS?

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There was a pause before Vimes replied to the knock. The group walked into his office and Jeannie saluted.

"Sir, first of all I was wondering if there was any word from Vetinari about the code that Gigio sent us?"

Vimes : "No Sergeant, not yet but I have the pleasure of meeting with his lordship this afternoon so I'm sure he'll have a surprise for me...he usually does"

"Thankyou sir, also I would like permission to question the Dun brothers, under supervision of an armed guard. It would be a valuable training experience for lance-constable Patrick aswell"

Vimes was silent for a moment, then replied

"Ok, but not until I can be there aswell. I don't trust them an inch, and I want Detritus to be one of the armed guards ok?"

Jeannie saluted again "Thankyou sir, I'll report back to you this afternoon then."

They turned to leave the office, Vimes waited until Patrick and Mrs Wizzard had left then called Jeannie back

"Sergeant? a quick word please"

Jeannie groaned quietly, this didnt sound good

"Sergeant, I can't help noticing the bloody great big cuts on your face and neck, and judging by the way you winced when you saluted I'm guessing they aren't the only ones you've got. Assault on a watch officer is a very serious offence...is there anything you want to tell me?"

Jeannie faced down his glare, whilst desperatly thinking what to answer. Although she would love to get the Watches gaze pointing firmly at the von Uberwalds, she kept thinking of the look in Jakes eyes when he saw she had been hurt by one of his own...she couldn't do it to him. She had no solid proof it was one of them, she told herself, there is nothing to tell Vimes.

"It's nothing that won't heal in a few hours sir, just...you know...full moon and stuff"

His glare didn't change, but he nodded

"Ok then Sergeant, I'm sure you wouldn't keep anything from the watch that we needed to know so we'll leave it...for now"

With a sigh of relief Jeannie left the office. Avoiding the gaze of the others, she began to walk towards the main door.  
She called back

"Right then, lets see if we can find out who was following us yesterday" 

Trying to ignore the thoughts going round in her head she headed back out onto the streets

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Jake paused as he packed up his things, was he really doing this? Was this really happening? He took another look at the four walls he had called him for so long, amazing how little of an impression he had left on the room. He didn't have many clothes and was never one for trophies, still he thought he would keep the room rented, just in case. Just in case was? And if he kept it would it just be tempting fate? He left his chest in the middle of the room he had been told that it would be collected later. Closing the door he moved down the looked at the note one more time.

_Jeannie,_

It would appear that things have changed a great deal in a very short amount of time. It seems that life is never easy and when you're…different, it can get even more so. I am moving into my families home, but perhaps you'll join me for a drink in the Mended Drum when you get this perhaps I could help with your search?

Jake

Folding the note he handed it to his land lady along with a few months rent before walking out the door and heading, quite pointedly, to the Mended Drum.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie walked ahead of her companions, still ignoring the thoughts that were trying to grab her attention.

A little voice inside her kept whispering  
_You could have told Vimes, you should have told him...why didn't you?_   
She ignored it, it was something she wasn't ready to think on just yet.

She stopped and turned to her friends  
"OK the first time I felt I was being watched I was walking here, but I don't know where the observer was positioned. The second time was on the way to the dwarf bread museum, so let take that route and see if we can pick up a trail"

As they walked Jeannie sniffed the air but, not surprisingly, picked up nothing new. She decided to try the place where Patrick had walked behind them to try and catch the spy, maybe the rooftops there would give her a new lead, a scent or something

The route took her past Jake and Patricks lodgings, she wondered why she hadn't noticed this the last time, but of course it would have just been a non-descript house then. She hadn't known Jake lodged there and Patrick had still been fresh from his arrival into the city.

The landlady nodded to Patrick as he walked past, and gave Jeannie a strange look before disappearing inside

Jeannie looks at Mrs Wizzard "well, it would seem I'm really the popular one lately huh? I've only met the woman once, what could I have possibly done to make her run away!?"

They had walked past the house when Jeannie heard her name being called, as she turned round the land lady was waving a piece of paper at her. Jeannie took it, she didn't need to open it to know who it was from, the scent rose from the paper as she held it in her hands.

Opening the note, she read it and asked the landlady how long ago had Jake left? The woman said not long, not even a hour

Thank the gods for that, he should still be there...

"OK, Patrick. I want you to go to the spot outside the dwarf museum where we saw the person on the roofs and have a good look around, maybe Mrs Wizzard will help you. I'll meet you later, I have to go...right now."

She hurried towards the Mended Drum,her mind reeling...going back to his family? help with her search? would he really? Why would he do that now?

As she approached she slowed down and with forced calmness she walked into the bar and looked around for Jake

--------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard watched her go. When Jeannie was well out of sight, her and Patrick were left alone. There was an awkward silence. They hadn't really gotten to know each other since they'd met. After a moment Mrs. Wizzard sighed.

"Well, come one. We've got a lot to do."

The silence continued as they walked in the direction of the museum

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As a way of breaking the silence surrounding himself and Mrs. Wizzard, Patrick asks...

"I wonder how well you know the city? If the spy was up on the rooftops we'll need a way to get up there."

Trying to think like a watchman now...

_Why would someone follow us up there? How could someone do it? I'd think it would be easier to stay on the street.._

"Why would someone be up there anyway? On the street they could hide in the crowd, or run if spotted."

_Unless they wanted to have a clear shot...Maybe they were thrown off for a minute..._

"I'm kind of lost here. I'm used to seeing the enemy and fighting him toe to toe. This watchman way of thinking is going to take some getting used to."

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Entering the Mended Drum, her eyes quickly grew accustomed to the gloom. She scanned the room for Jake and saw him sat at a table near the back of the room.  
She was intrigued about what he wanted to talk to her about, yet at the same time she found herself feeling apprehensive

She went to the bar and ordered a drink, then taking a deep breath she walked over to Jakes table and sat down opposite him

"I hope you havn't been waiting long...I came as soon as I got your note."

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"Well, there're dozens of ways to get onto the rooftops," Mrs. Wizzard sighs. "That's the problem with Ankh-Morpork. Everyone has to get creative. Like all that buisness with the gonne a few years back when someone just decided that they were too good for a crossbow." They walk on in silence for a little while longer. Awkward silences were always annoying. Mrs. Wizzard was relieved to se the museum coming into sight.

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The beer was weak and it tasted disgusting, but Jake drank it because he had other things on his mind. The day was still young but already The Drum was bustling and for some reason Jake had the feeling he could sense pressure building among the customers but wasn't sure why. Normally he wouldn't sit around in such an atmosphere but he needed a drink and he wasn't in the mood to be dictated to by his wolf, although perhaps he should listen to it.

He could tell that Jeannie had walked in by the scent that cut through the other dross. Jake didn't look around though and waited for her to come to the table, he saw the drink being put down in front of him and only then did he look up at her. He had not said anything yet and it was Jeannie who spoke first. He ignored her apology and her question, it was small talk a way of saying nothing while still talking.

"How are you doing with your investigation into the brothers?"

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Jeannie shrugged, and leant back in her seat.

"nothing new yet, I'm hoping that will change later on though. There are things being looked into today"

She took a sip of beer and pulled a face

"Why the interest?"

----------------------------------------------------------------

Jake absorbed the information silently and pursed his lips, it looked as though he were going to say something, but instead he took another sip of beer and spoke.

"Those dwarves in Sto Lat tried to kill you and I'm pretty confident they would have settled for me, I'm just curious to find out why and I'm thinking that it has something to do with what you're looking into."

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"What I'm looking into?"

She bit down on the next sentence that came to her lips...

.._'I'm looking for my sisters murderer, want to talk about that huh?_...

...Instead she nodded and said

"Yep, they tried to kill me, and I think you are right. It is probably linked with the brothers. That's one thing I'm hoping to get to the bottom of later today."

She knew she wasn't giving much away, but she didn't know if she could trust him.  
After he had come after her in Sto Lat and helped her get away from the bounty hunter she had begun to allow herself to trust him a little bit which didn't come easily to her, but he had gone out of his way to follow her from the Inn and he had put the bounty hunter off her trail...

But then he had concealed the truth about Minnies killer...and he was a von Uberwald, she had been brought up to dis-trust anyone with that name,one of them had tried to rip her throat out last night and as much as she despised her mother being right about anything, that had pretty much validated what her mother had told her about them...and although Jake didn't seem to be of the same mold, he was going back to them wasn't he? She had to be careful

She gave him a questioning look

"Why? Do you have any ideas?"

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Jake frowned, he wasn't even sure he actually understood the situation, he thought that perhaps thinking out loud might help.

"You arrested these brothers and yet things are still happening, which surely would suggest that somehow they are managing to communicate with someone outside of their sell, perhaps through mail or something? Perhaps it is pre-arranged and the only way to stop it is to find these people. Of course there seems to be something else going on as well, the bounty hunter in Sto Lat, how do we know that it is connected to the brothers? Do we have two separate situations here? Perhaps if we ask the assassins in the right way, we might find out if there is a contract on any of our heads."

He paused and took another drink, his mind seemed to be buzzing, there seemed to be lots of strings that didn't tie onto things, not to mention that family matters appeared to be getting in the way. Jake was no watchman, but he felt that there was something missing, something so obvious that you didn't even realise it was there. He leant closer, sometimes the best place to have a private conversation was in the middle of a bar.

"I also found out what family your from, I wasn't looking I can assure you. It seems our families have been fighting for a very long time."

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Jeannie stared at him in surprise, how had he found out what family she was from?

She looked down at her drink for a moment then looked back at Jake, her hand absent mindedly touched the wound above her eye

"A very long time, yes...yet here I am having a drink with a von Uberwald, and my throat is still in one piece."

She tried to smile, but sighed

"I'm not part of them anymore"

She thought about the rest of what he had said...the assassins was a good place to start, and that bounty hunter had been preying on her mind. If she told him everything they knew he could possibly help her piece it together

But first she had to know something, she looked him in the eye and said it

"Jake, If I'm going to trust you with what I know I need to be sure that trust is well placed.  
Whatever you say, this conversation will not go back to Vimes or any other watch officer, I've already coverd for my injuries with him. So...just to satisfy my curiosty, who attacked me last night, and do I need to be watching my back while they are in the city?"  
s


	5. Chapter 5

He sighed, the guy was an idiot anyway.

"You were attacked by Nicholi my half brother, who takes pleasure in torching anyone he thinks weaker than himself."

_and he made my childhood a living nightmare_ he wanted to add, but decided against it, she didn't need to know that.

"I'm not sure whether he knew your family connection or not, I think you were a victim of opportunity, I believe he is being sent back to Uberwald." 

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She couldn't help but give a evil little grin

"Weaker than him eh? well, he got a surprise. He ran off with his tail between his legs...what was left of it anyway"

She took another sip of beer, gods it really was disgusting! But it was something to fill the space while she thought on what to tell Jake.

"Ok,I'll tell you what I know and maybe it'll help piece things together a bit more. The brothers definitly have other people on the outside, I know that for certain. You remember you saw Mrs Wizzard at the house in Sto Lat, she came out looking frightened yes? Well, I saw the note later on and it was from one of the brothers contacts, warning her she was being watched. Someone was definitly spying on us on the way to the coach aswell."

She stopped and thought for a moment, sipping her drink and staring at nothing

"Shortly after we got back to the city, I collected a clacks from Gigio. He thinks the dwarves are being blackmailed and that Captain Carrot is the only dwarf who can be trusted to talk to about any of this, he also sent us a coded message which Carrot has taken to be dechypherd. Then later outside the watch house I felt someone watching me again, but I couldn't pick up a scent. As me and the others made our way to the dwarf museum it was clear we were being followed. Patrick hung back to spot them but saw nothing...that was because whoever was following us was using the roofs, I got a quick glimpse of them outside the museum."

She was looked back at Jake

"Whoever it was knows about me, I'm sure of it. They stayed out of my human range and they must know that the only way I can get a really good scent trail is as a wolf, but how can a wolf investigate a roof? Paws and claws are not suited for climbing around on the rooftops...I'm wondering about that bounty hunter, she knew she was after a werewolf."

She stopped for a moment to let Jake digest what she had said so far

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Jason took a few of the pieces and tried fitting them together, he wasn't a watchman, he wasn't even sure why he was getting involved, but he considered anyway.

"I suppose, in light of the note that Mrs Wizard found the bounty hunter could have been sent by a someone working for the brothers? And if the dwarves are being black mailed then what are they being black mailed with? Surely they can't ALL be being black mailed."

He stopped a moment, this was very complicated and the more information he seemed to have the more convoluted it grew.

"Perhaps climbing up to the rooftops and then changing? I can't imagine it's that difficult to walk around the rooftops once your up there.."

He thought again for a moment.

"One other thing, why are you involved? I thought that you were a member of the Uberwaldian watch?"

Uberwald watch, it still sounded strange just thinking it, for so many centuries it had been ruled by the strongest. Fueds between werewolves and vampires, werewolves and werewolves and vampires, werewolves and dwarves. Uberwald had always been a dangerous place and if you weren't strong you ended up getting eaten and not always in the figurative sense. 

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"Why am I involved? Well, I was sent here to find my sisters killer...you know, that scent you can't help me with?"

She gave Jake a look, but there wasn't much anger in it, more of a gentle reproach. He must have a good reason for not telling her, after all he had told her about his half-brother. She decided not to push it

"But seeing as there's not much I can do about that right now, I'm following the leads on this case. It makes sense, I have been involved since I arrived here, I know more about the case than the Ankh Morpork officers...also I tend to hold grudges against people who try to strangle me with silver chains, abduct and threaten my friends and possibly send a bounty hunter after me."

Another pause , another sip of beer, then she carried on

"As for the roof tops thing, I did think of that but that area is pretty sloped with lots of little nooks and crannys. I'd need to do it under cover of dark so I can easily change back into human shape if it becomes difficult, I don't really want to be caught out naked on the roofs in broad daylight. With the full moon, being able to change at will once the moon is up has been out of the question"

Frowning as she spoke, she continued

"As for the blackmailing question, I really don't know...yet. I'm waiting for word on the code and I'm going to question the brothers myself later today, maybe something will come up then. Things have been quiet from Gigio lately so no news there. I've got Patrick having a look around near the museum, but I think that a scent will be the key to tracking whoever has been spying on us."

She fell quiet, trying to make the pieces fit

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They arrived at the museum and began looking around. Mrs. Wizzard looking in the nearby alley for anything suspicious..Well, suspicious by Ankh-Morpork standards.

"Well, nothing weird down here." She looked up. "I could probaly get a better view from up there, though."

Mrs. Wizzard hurriedly climbs up a fire escape and onto the roof. From up here she could see Patrick inspecting the front of the museum.

"You find anything?" she called down. He looked up and shook his head. "Hm, that's odd." There was a sound of someone running away behind her. "What the-" She gave out a quick scream as she tripped and fell off the roof and into a trashcan in the alley. Her muffled voice came from inside as she struggled to get out.

"Knowing my luck, I should have known better than to climb up there in the first place."

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Patrick had been searching around the front of the museum as Mrs Wizzard went up on the roof. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for but figured something strange would stick out...

_Strange? I'm standing outside a building dedicated to the history of dwarf bread. What else can beat this?_

Looking up to answer her question he sees Mrs Wizzard turn quickly, looking behind her, and watches in horror as she falls from the roof.

"NO!"

His moment of fear passes as she lands in a trash bin.

_Think I saw that in a moving picture thingy once..._

Quickly coming up alongside the can, he looks to see if Mrs Wizzard is okay - she points up to the roof and a muffled "...runner...the roof," sends Patrick scrambling down the alley.

Looking for any more fire escapes along the way he runs through the alley half watching what's in front of him, half searching the roofline.  
Coming the rear of the building he catches a glimpse of a figure jumping up from a crouching position on the road - looking as though he or she had just landed from a fall.

_What the? He jumped from the roof?_

The figure takes off, barely missing a beat and accelerates quickly down the street weaving through throngs of people and dodging carts and stalls with ease.

Patrick runs as fast as he can, but not nearly as graceful as his quarry. He plows into a few unsuspecting shoppers and turns over more than one stall as he tries to keep up with the stranger.  
Behind him, he can hear the cries of those startled or down on the ground.

Turning a quick corner he sees that the runner has gotten way to far ahead to try to catch.

_I'll just have to try to keep him in sight...can't keep this up..._

Patrick's breathing comes in short sharp gasps as he plows on. Up ahead he sees the figure turn another corner and disappear from sight.

_Geez!...runs...like..a..rabbit...bastard!_

Coming up to the corner now, Patrick is more concerned with keeping the stranger in sight and makes his first - well, second - mistake as a new Watchman. Turning the corner he sees too late the figure standing right there, not three feet from him. An arm extends and catches Patrick around the neck, sending him to the ground flat on his back. As his head hits the pavement he has just a second to hear the man give a low, sick chuckle; like someone who's been playing with their food.

_Oh..crap...this is gonna leave a mark..._

All goes dark. Patrick lays in the alley. Those people walking by the scene don't, or simply won't see him laying there.

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Jeannie sat in the Mended Drum opposite Jake, staring furiously at her beer as though it would give her the answers she was trying to find

She voiced her thoughts out loud as she ran through their conversation in her head

"OK so we know the brothers have operatives out there, we know that they were watching us in Sto Lat. We think they may have sent the bounty hunter...but why after me? we think they are blackmailing the dwarves...but blackmailing them with what? Someone has been watching us here in the city..but who and why? Could it the same person from Sto Lat...Sto Lat?"

Another question threw itself into view among the dozens that were already perplexing her

"Jake, did you ever find anything out about why you ended up in Sto Lat? I mean, thats pretty odd in itself"

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"You just _had_ to pair me up with the athletic one, dind't ya, Jeannie?" Mrs. Wizzard pants as she ran down the street, looking for Patrick.

She cathches a brief glimpse of him disappearing into an alleyway. By the time she gets there, he's unconcious on the ground and his attacker had fled. Mrs. Wizzard sighed.

"You had to be a hero." She leans down to pick him up when she sees something out of the corner of her eye. There was a piece of cloth on the ground. Looking up she notices that the runner's cloth must have gotten caught and torn on a discarded spike. (They threw away anyhting in this city)

Well, being a watch officer, he'd probaly kill me for not bringing along any evidence. Reluctantly, Mrs. Wizzard stores the cloth in her pocket and picks up Patrick. Dragging him along, not an unusual sight in Ankh-Morpork, she makes her way to the Mended Drum in hopes of finding Jeannie and Jake.

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How could he have been so stupid and not told her about the theft? Perhaps because just moments before a wave of guilt had flooded over him at her levelled gaze. He said nothing though, lifting the beer to his lips and then deciding that even he couldn't stomach anymore.

"I'm not sure who did it, but I'm fairly confident I know why."

He broke off and realised that he still hadn't spoken to Angua, she was a vegetarian right? She must be the only werewolf in the whole of the city who paid for what she killed. Giving himself a mental shake he started again.

"Yesterday, by the dwarf bread museum when we saw Captain Carrot. He was talking to me about a theft at the warehouse where I work, he said a couple of things had been stolen. During my watch last night I went in and looked around, the scent of whoever it was had been mixed with too many other things to be certain, but the scent was similar to the one I remember smelling just before I woke up in Sto Lat. Of course, I can't find out what was stolen because it's in a book which is watched over by someone who, while I'm sure would let me see if I gave him a wolfish grin, would probably call the watch and I'd find myself back in Psuedopolis yard and not the nice part. If we want to find out, I think it's going to take someone with persuasion and a badge."

Falling silent he looked out the door and had to blink several times before he accepted what he was seeing. It looked, although Jake was taking this on what his eyes were telling him alone, not always a sure fire thing in this city, but it looked like Mrs Wizard dragging the unconscious form of Patrick.

"Uh…don't look now but I think that Mrs Wizard has pulled and bringing him here for a drink." 

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"Persuasion and a badge? well I think I can help there, if you...huh?"

Jeannie turned around in her seat

"oh shi...what the hell happened to them?"

Jeannie left her seat and hurried over to her friends, she knelt down next to Patrick and saw the lump on his head and the mark on his neck but that he was alive. She looks up at Mrs Wizzard, thankfully she looked unharmed, just slightly out of breath from the effort of getting Patrick this far

She cursed herself for hurrying off and leaving them to go the museum alone, but it should have been safe enough... _damn it_ !

She sat back and swore, then looked back at Mrs Wizzard

"What happened to him?Are you ok?"

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Jake found him wishing that Mrs Wizard hadn't come here with an unconscious body. The eyes of all the patrons seemed to be trained on the three of them and Jake knew that when he wandered over they would be looking at him as well and the urge to take what they could might overwhelm the shock.

Deciding the entrance of The Drum wasn't a great place to tend to Patrick Jake moved forward and took the unconscious form from under the arms. He tried to make it look like he was having difficulty moving the Officer, after all, a human would and set up down out of the way, but still able to feel the glowers of other patrons.

"This is the guy that was spying on me right?"

He said looking at Jeannie for confirmation before looking at the marks.

"Uhh…are those…"

He lowered his voice

"Bite marks?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie nodded at Jakes enquiry about Patrick then replied in a low voice, "I don't know what they are on his neck, but something has given him a pretty hard whack. Look at his head, that looks pretty bad"

She looked around, she would feel much better if they all got away from here

"Jake, I could probably get him back to the watch house by myself but we seem to be attracting attention and that would look pretty suspicious...I mean, I don't _look_ as though I should be able to lift a fully grown man. Do you mind playing along and 'helping' me carry him back, I really think Igor should have a look at him."

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As Jeannie and Jake lifted the body Mrs. Wizzard glanced around.

"Everyone's giving me a look, I'm 'helping' too."

As the three of them carried Patrick to the Watch house, Mrs. Wizzard tried to explain what had happened.

"Before Patrick got attacked, someone had jumped off of the museum's roof and fled from us," She tried to leave out the embarassing part where she had tripped and fell off of the roof. "So, he started chasing them and when I found him he was like this."

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Jake didn't like the idea of going anywhere near a watch house, but he was also not so much of a coward that he wouldn't help out someone when they needed it, which he knew was something very un-Ankh-Morporkian, but he was not from the city originally. As the three of them walked through the streets he listened to Mrs Wizard and wrinkled his nose.

"Did he chase him through the trash cans or something?"

The smell of rubbish seemed to envelop the three of them.

"I bet they'll all reach for silver when we go into the watch house."

Was all he said in protest to entering the place. 

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Jeannie tried to conceal a little smile at Jakes grumbling. She knew he hated the watch house, and she was grateful that he would come in to help them.It wasn't long before they had arrived at Psuedopolis Yard

They took Patrick down to Igors cellar, Jeannie tried not to breath in the smells that emanated from the various jars and containers as she gave Igor a quick explanation of what had happened.

As Igor began his ministrations to the injured officer, Jeannie joined Jake and Mrs Wizzard outside the door

"So someone jumped off the roof and was still able to run away. I don't like the sound of that, especially if it was the person who's been watching us."

She rubbed her face in her hands, and sighed. This was getting more and more coinfusing

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Patrick was aware of being carried but couldn't wake up enough to speak or move his legs.

_My head..._

He could feel a pressure in his head, an ache he had never felt before in his life.

A flash!

_That...whatever it was! Ran like like hell was coming up behind him! Stopped me dead in my tracks without any effort..._

He tried to concentrate on the face, he'd seen the face. Hadn't he? It had a face! Try as he might, he couldn't remember anything; eyes, hair, lips, nothing.

_A cloak...or cape. I remember a black cape._

Again and again, he turned the corner and saw - the cape. Felt the arm catch him around the neck. Then...nothing.

As he was carried along he decided to give in to the feeling of exhaustion.

_Did somebody say 'Igor'?_

"Igor?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake looked at her pointedly

"I believe a werewolf can jump off a building without any ill effects, those looked like fang marks to me, but I didn't think that vampires were…great fans of the day time."

When he had entered igor's lab he had almost wretched there and then, standing out here wit h the door closed the smell was still strong, but compared to the inside, it was like a breath of fresh air although he still felt a little green. 

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She looked at Jake, trying to concentrate on not breathing, ugh what was in those jars in there? Actually, she decided, she really _really_ didn't want to know

"Yes I know, it could be either of the two, thats why I don't like the sound of it. Also I know that some vampires can tolerate the sunlight if they are suitably coverd, and those marks do look like bites."

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Time seemed to pass at a snails pace with the fumes seeming ot get ever stronger and various members of the watching passing, even Detritus one of the watch the Jake had great respect for, well in the sense that anyone had respect for something that could push you into the ground like you saw on those strange clickies. Finally he couldn't take it any longer and, despite his lower brain screaming for him not to, opened the door and looked in.

"Igor what's going on? Is he going to be alright?"

Igor looked up.

"Jutht finithing off thir, he had a rather bad head wound, but he thhould be alright if he rethtth for a bit. It would have been eathier if thargent Jeannie had allowed me to give him a new head, I'm thure I could do it."

Jake tried not to flinch at the thought, after all igor meant well.

"Best not to try though." 

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Jeannie almost gagged on the fumes when Jake opened the door, after hearing what Igor had to say, Jeannie nodded feeling very relieved.

"well you heard the, er...man. Patrick just needs to rest and he'll be fine. Oh by the way, Jake I know you aren't very keen on this place so thankyou"

She rubbed the back of her neck, and stretched. The aches were beginning to leave her body now, she was healing well.

"I was interupted back in the Drum, but I was going to say that if you want someone with persuasion and a badge I'm happy to help...if you wanted me to that is, it's up to you."

She began to slowly move away from Igors room, the smell was making her nauseous and it made it hard to think

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Patrick could hear the voices and recognized Jeannie right away. The other was...Jake? Lying there on the table with Igor tending to him he tried to remain still. The smell of the place was overwhelming and made him sick to his stomach. That and the headache reminded him of being sea-sick...

_A new head? Did Igor just say I need a new head?_

"Uh...help?"

_I wonder how Jeannie found me? How long was I out?_

"Sergeant?"

Opening his eyes slowly, he winced at the weird play of colored lights playing off the jars of...stuff.

"Sarge? What happened? Is Mrs Wizzard alright? I kind of left her alone for a minute. Chased something for a few blocks...got my clock cleaned."

A cloak. Dark. The arm coming up...no face.

"I didn't see who it was. Sorry."

No answer. Was she still here?

Closing his eyes again and settling down let his stomach calm. His headache was subsiding. Now he could feel the slight pain in his neck.

_About time. I've been a pain in the neck to everyone else - now it's my turn..._

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At the sound of Patricks voice Jeannie turned around, forced herself to inhale the noxious oudors as she enterd the room and went over to Patrick as he lay on Igors treatment table.

"Hey there,don't worry you're gonna be fine, Igor's patched you up. Mrs Wizzard is here and completely in one piece so don't you worry about her either ok?  
Igor says you be fine after a rest, so you do just that and I'll be back to talk to you later on.Thats an order alright?"

With a worried look at the wounds on his neck, she turned and re-joined the others. As she pulled the door shut she said in a low voice

"I've got a bad feeling about those marks on his neck, Jake's right. They are fang marks, lets just hope it was a light snack and not the...other sort of bite"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick took some comfort in hearing Jeannie's voice but could detect a certain hesitation.

_Don't worry, you're going to be fine. Igor patched you up..._

How many times had he said those very words to soldiers on the field, people he would never see again. Standard first-aid; verbal reassurance even if it's a lie...

_Oh hell, stop it will ya! You got thumped on a little bit. No big deal. Your pride's hurt more than you are; trying to chase down gods only knows who by yourself. And you left Mrs Wizzard by herself!_

"Igor?"

"Yeth mathter?"

"What's that smell?"

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"Hmm..Well, I know a few vampires. They don't usually turn people into vampires unless they've got a good reason." After a moment of thought she adds, "Ya know, that's not very helpfull here, is it? Well, he's resting now, so I guess we'll know if he wakes up craving blood." Mrs. Wizzard leans against the wall. Several minutes of silence pass before she seems to remember something important. "Oh! Jeannie, when I found Patrick in the alley his attacker had gone but I found this on the ground." She pulls the cloth out of her pocket and shows it to Jeannie.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake nodded at Jeannie's suggestion, a watch officer would get further with the records than he could and would also probably not get dragged to the sells for brutality or threatening behaviour. He felt the looks and for once he didn't care, he did not flinch from them, he was quite capable of dicing a large number of them.

"I didn't want to say it down there, but those marks didn't look like a wolf bite. You ever bitten something so cleanly before? That's not a wolf bite, if a werewolf bites you and there is enough left afterwards you become a werewolf, you don't get a choice, I don't know if that's the case wit ha vampire do you? Wasn't there a thing about vimes hiring a vampire is _it_ not here."

Vampires, blood sucking little ticks. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie took the cloth from Mrs Wizzard, and looked at it as she spoke

"I know, that's definitely a vampire bite. That's why I'm worried, it could have just been a opportunist feed after it knocked him out...or it could have been the other sort of bite. Like Mrs Wizzard said we won't know until he wakes up. She's right, a bite from a vampire only turns you into one if they want you to...they put something in the blood or something, I'm not sure how it works"

She brought the cloth near to her nose, and smelt the stink of vampire...she couldn't repress a growl deep in her throat. Like most werewolves she shared Jakes opinion of the bloodsuckers, they brought out something primal in the wolf

Composing herself, she answered Jakes question with a brief nod

"I had heard about the vampire in the city watch, it had come from our watch back in Uberwald apparently. I've not encountered it yet."

she looked around, "Well, standing here isn't going to help us or Patrick, let's go and..."

A corporal stood next to Jeannie and said something in a low voice, she groaned. She knew this was coming but it didn't make it any easier.

She looked back at her companions, "I'll be back soon, I have to go and try and explain this mess to Vimes. If you meet me in the canteen afterwards, then maybe we can go to your warehouse Jake? We might aswell try and solve _something_ today. Mrs Wizzard, I'll see if there's any news of the code if I can, I'm sure it's somthing to do with your brothers"

She turned and made her way towards the stairs that lead up to Vimes office...this was not going to be fun

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Patrick slept on the table in Igor's lab; for how long he did not know. He had a few dreams, strange, full of color and sound. As he came to, he was aware of Igor staring intently at him.

"Igor? What's wrong? You look a little...concerned."

"Nothing mathter, jutht profethonal curiouthity."

_Curiousity? What did he do? Add another arm or something?_

Sitting up slowly and swinging his legs over the side of the table, Patrick noticed that the headache was gone and he didn't feel as sore as he probably should have. He was weak though and didn't want to try to stand up yet.

"Igor, do you have some water? I feel a bit dry."

As Igor shuffled off, Patrick took in his surroundings.

_I'm in the lab at the Watch House. Good thing the Commander thought to have an Igor on duty. I think I'll stay put here just like Jeannie said. At least for once I'll follow orders._

"Mathter, hereth your water. Now that you are awake do you want me to get your friendth?"

"Oh, don't worry Igor. Mrs Wizzard and Jake are going to meet Jeannie in the canteen later. They'll be back. Wha'? What did I say?"

Igor stood there for a second, eyes locked on Patrick. "Uh, Mathter. You only jutht woke up. The door to the lab hath been clothed and nobody elthe hath been here...How do you know where you friendth are?"

_Huh?_

"Well, I...oh, come on now Igor. Somebody must have told you. I could have heard it while I was sleeping...or...something...Maybe you should go get them for me afterall."

_I know Jake and Mrs Wizzard are just down the hall there and Jeannie is...up...stairs somewhere. _  
_How do I know that?_

Igor came back into the lab and told Patrick that his friends would in fact be meeting in the canteen in awhile. He would see to it that they got his message.

With that, Patrick lay back down on the table, a wave of nausea coming over him. Thanking Igor for the water he turned on his side and tried to rest some more.

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Jeannie enterd Vimes office and closed the door behind her, Vimes didn't look up from his desk until she was stood infront of him.

"Have a seat Sergeant"

Jeannie sat down in the chair opposite his desk and waited for him to speak again. He leant forward and rested his elbows on his desk

"Jeannie, from what I've been told our newest officer is in fact lieing in Igors room having been found unconcious in an alley after chasing a suspect, alone...now, I want to bloody well know how this happened and why his training officer wasn't on hand!"

"I was pursuing other lines of enquiry.Permission to speak freely sir?"

Vimes gave a brief nod

"With respect sir, Patrick isn't a 'wet behind the ears' rookie, he has experience in a regiment, bounty hunting and personal security among gods know what else. He seems to be more than capable of taking care of himself, and to be honest the majority of your officers would have had problems with the suspect that Patrick was chasing"

Vimes gave her a look  
"Really?Why?"

"Because it was a damn vampire!" She realised she had said that last sentence alot louder than she had intended "ahem sorry, but you know..the werewolf-vampire thing, makes me a bit edgy...anyway, a piece of cloth was found near his body, it reeks of vampire, and while normally that could be considerd a rather too convienient clue, Patrick also has bite marks on his neck...he's still asleep. We are waiting to see how or indeed _what _he is when he wakes up"

She stopped and waited. Vimes reaction must have been heard by most of the watch house.

Once he had finished she said "Yes sir...Igor will keep an eye on him until it's clear either way. Apparently you already have a vampire here in the city watch, might be an idea for it to be ready near Igors room...just incase. It will be strong enough to help him if he..."

she couldn't finish that sentence, imagining one of her friends craving peoples blood was just too disturbing

Vimes sighed heavily

"Ok Jeannie, you're dismissed"

Before Jeannie left she enquired about the code. No news yet, but Vimes was about to go to his meeting with the Patrician.  
Jeannie nodded and left Vimes office

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Okay so here he was sitting with Mrs Wizard in a canteen where the food was…well he wasn't brave enough to try it but it seemed to fill the whole in a number of the watch who were eating around them. Despite the number of people in the canteen Mrs Wizard and himself seemed to have a table all on their own.

"Wow, really makes you feel wanted." He said in Mrs Wizard's direction.

He liked the idea of going with Detritus and the peace-maker to see the warehouse owner and dare him to stop them from taking a look at the ledger. Indeed a small smile crept over his face at the thought of it.

"I can see how being a member of the watch could have its advantages."

He imagined himself wearing his badge as he took a couple of chickens, he'd probably fit right in. Shaking himself he realised that he had to get out of here soon, the place seemed to have a strange bewitching air about it. 

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Jeannie headed down to the canteen, when she enterd she looked around and spotted Jake and Mrs Wizzard sat at a table by themselves.

She headed over and sat down with them, noticing Jake seemed to be amused at some private thought

"well, that was an...interesting discussion. Nothing new to report though I'm afraid, Mrs Wizzard...so what now?I can't do much just sitting here waiting for Patrick to wake up or Vimes to get back. So Jake, do you want to go see that warehouse owner?"

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Jake watched her approach

"Hello Sergeant have you come to join the popular table."

Jake said only a tinge of sarcasm creeping into his tone.

"I think that would be a good idea, do you think Detritus would come with us with his peace-maker? I've always wanted to stand behind him while he fired it, it's quite a hard weapon to dodge. I'd just like the opportunity to ask the boss once to show me the ledger and when he is about to refuse stand to one side to reveal a straining siege weapon." 

------------------------------------------------------------------

Sergeant? Jake had never referred to her as Sergeant before...was he feeling ok?

Jeannie stared at Jake when he mentioned Detritus, was he joking or not? Although he had a point, taking an Ankh Morpork officer would make it slightly easier to gain access to what they wanted to see, esepecially if that officer just happend to be a very large troll who everyone knew carried a seige weapon as his bow

She said as much to Jake, but added "I'll ask him to come with us but we are not going to threaten anyone with that bow...I mean it!" she said trying not to grin at the look on Jakes face

-------------------------------------------

Jake saw Jeannie's expression change from one of surprise to understanding to amusement. The hairs on the back of his neck rose and he blinked.

"Do you still have that cloth that Mrs Wizard found on you?"

They gave him the creeps, but perhaps they should check on Patrick or at least what had been Patrick. The two of them hadn't started off on the right foot Jake didn't think that being bitten by a vampire was going to help it, not if he got that ego complex that seemed to come with all blood suckers.

"Should we check on Patrick before we disappear?"

The chemical smell which was Igor's signature wafted into the room and Jake looked around. Sure enough the squat…uh..surgeon was shuffling towards them.

"Patrick ith awake sirth and ladieth" 

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"What...I mean, _how_ is he?"

"He ith recoverd from hith injuriths, but he ith thtill not himthelf"

"What do you mean? you've never met the man before Igor, how can you tell if he's not himself?"

"Well Thergeant, I atthumed that he couldn't thenthe the whereabouths of people in the huilding before now?"

Jeannie felt a cold chill run down her back, "What exactly do you mean, sense the whereabouts of people?"

"I mean that when he woke up he knew exactly where you and hith other companionth were in the building"

Jeannie looked at Jake, "That doesn't sound good does it?"

----------------------------------------------------

Patrick awoke with a start. The dreams were getting almost too real, the images becoming sharper the sounds clearer.

_Still in the Watch House. Good._

The smells of the lab didn't bother him so much anymore. His head and stomach were cooperating for once.

"Igor?"

Looking around he didn't see Igor so decided to try to stand up by himself. Placing one foot on the floor and then the other he steadies himself on the table for a minute before taking a few steps toward the wash basin on the counter.

_I gotta get my head around this and quick. First I make a mess this morning of half the city chasing after one guy or girl or whatever...then I get knocked out at the start of my first full day as a watchman. No more infantry charges Patrick. Have to learn the new way of doing things._

Plunging his hands into the basin he splashes water onto his face and neck, noticing for the first time the bandage that Igor had placed there.

_I got knocked out - not cut. What's this?_

Pulling back the dressing carefully he sees the two clean punctures on his neck. Running his fingers across the smooth edges...

_What the?_

"Igor? Igor!"

Turning toward the closed door of the lab he walks foward a few steps and stops suddenly as a vision flashes through his mind.  
Through the door which is still closed he can 'see' or rather feel, Igor talking to Jake, Mrs Wizzard and Jeannie. He knows that they are here. He is aware of others in the building also but not as acutely as those four.

_That conk on the head really did a job on me._

"Igor!"

Suddenly feeling not quite like himself he calls for Igor again, he doesn't want to be alone right now. Something isn't right. He's scared. Reaching up to his feel his neck again, he feels a warmth flood through him and sees...

_A cloak. Dark. So dark it was night itself. But no face. I can't make out the face._

"Somebody...

------------------------------------------------------------------

As Jeannie was waiting for Jake to reply, a sound made her look round..."Did anyone else hear that?"

She looked back at Jake and Mrs Wizzard, but didn't wait for confirmation. One other thing about being a werewolf meant that her hearing was very good aswell as her sense of smell

She heard another shout  
The cold chill down her back crawled all over her skin, "That was Patrick, something's wrong."

She began to hurry out of the canteen, trying not to run incase other watchmen decided to see what the fuss was about. Once out of the room she ran to Igors lab, opened the door and saw Patrick standing in the middle of the room...

"Patrick! Are you...ok?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Looking up at the figure in the doorway, Patrick saw Jeannie, heard Jeannie's voice and for a split also saw clearly a figure of a wolf. Before he could make out anything else, the vision cleared.

"I...I'm not sure. What happened? I know I got hit pretty hard but...I don't feel right."

A feeling was creeping up inside him. Frustration? Fear? He couldn't put his finger on it. he knew when his fight or flight response was getting ready to kick in and for some reason it was warming up...

_Calm down buddy. Don't loose it. Maybe you just got a good concussion. Igor can help you._

"You waited for me...

He takes another step foward and can see the others coming up behind her in the hall. The sounds of the Watch House stream through the open door much louder than they should. He can get a clearer sense of more people in the building.

"I'm not well. Maybe Igor can give me something."

Trying to sound calm he adds..

"So. Anything exciting happen while I was...out?"

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Jeannie looked at Patrick, there was something not right, his scent was changing and it smelt full of fear. She looked behind her at the footsteps and saw Jake, Igor and Mrs Wizzard.

She wonderd if Jake had noticed it too

"Um, no nothing exciting. I got shouted at by Vimes but thats just an every day occurance" she said whilst carefully watching him

"Igor, is there anything you can do for him?" She asked whilst trying to stand infront of Mrs Wizzard...just in case. Igor and the werewolves would not be the first choice of target if... She shook her head, no he wouldn't would he?

"Well I do have a thtake around here thomwhere.."

"Igor! you are not staking one of my officers! Isn't there...anything else?" she asked desperatly

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"A stake? A stake!"

Patrick saw them staring at him, saw the looks from Jeannie and Jake...

_This isn't right. Something is definitely wrong!_

From somewhere outside the room but also from inside his own head he heard a small calming voice...

relax I won't let them hurt you

"Jeannie what's wrong?"

He saw Jake and Mrs Wizzard standing there and knew...somehow that she was wary of him. He could feel them. Really feel them.

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And that was it, he had known who had hit him over the head, it had been a vampire, and a vampire had been the one that had stolen the stuff from the warehouse, it's just the sort of thing they would do, the little….Jake was wrenched form his htoughts by a shouting Patrick and noticed that Jeannie had already started down to the lab. Oh goodie, they were going to go and see Patrick, maybe he should take a stake.

"Do you think he's hungry, think we should take a stake?"

Not the time for jokes, but at the moment when was it.? Reaching the lab he pushes past the others and stands inside.

"Anything exciting? Oh yeah I've been out bought a new shampoo, it's great leaves my coat all glossy and shiny. Igor, perhaps we should test something out, find out for sure. Do you have any holy water?"

Igor said nothing and began rummaging around the place searching for it and muttering to himself as he did so.

Jake's heart began to pound faster and he felt the wolf growing uneasy. He idly wondered what Vimes would say if a fight broke out in his watch house. 

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Jeannie looked on in horror, Patrick was a friend and a fellow officer and...well it was looking pretty certain what else, but still... and she could sense Jake growing uneasy. her own wolf was stirring...no! This was not going to go this way.

She grabbed Jakes arm and pulled him out of the room, before he could protest.

She checked to make sure that Mrs Wizzard was not in immediate danger, then turned back to Jake.

"Jake, don't let the wolf win this one! Igor can handle Patrick if he's a..well, lets face it he is, isn't he? But he's scared and I don't want either of you getting hurt! I asked Vimes to get the other one down here to help, hopefully it will be here soon, its a black ribboner apparently so just keep the wolf under control ok?"

She said that last sentence with a pleading look in her eyes

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He had seen the look from Jake and heard the tone in his voice. More pointedly, he had heard Jake's heartbeat clearly above all else.

don't move

not here

_I must be going crazy!_

Watching Jeannie pull Jake out of the room, Patrick immediately felt a sense of relief. For a second there he thought this might turn into a good ol' fashioned knock-down-drag-out...and part of him wanted it.

"Igor. You have to help me, tell me what's going on."

Igor stopped searchng his lab and simply looked at Patrick with an almost blank face.

Patrick felt the surge of adrenalin leaving him. He began to shake a little. The noise coming from the hall was too loud. He heard Jake and Jeannie talking, felt the tension in the air.

_They know what's wrong._

relax

"Thir, there ith another offither coming down to talk to you. I'll be here ath well. You'll be okay. I have thomething to help take the edge off if you like."

NO!

"Uh, no Igor. I'll be alright now I think. I'm just a little sick is all. I've been doing a lot the last couple of days, not eating right. Maybe I should just go home."

Igor stood between Patrick and the doorway, "I don't think that would be a good idea thir. You thould wait for the nice offither."

stay

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake didn't have time to be shocked one second he was standing in the lab and the next he was having his arm half wrenched off as Jeannie pulled him through the door and started yammering at him, he saw her lips moving but didn't hear the words, not until the end.

_"Don't let the wolf win this one."_

When did he ever _let_ the wolf win anything? He was about to open his mouth to speak when an uberwald voice came from behind him and he spun around.

"Excuse me, I am lance-constable Sally, Commander Vimes instructed me to come down here. Can I help in zome way?"

Jake saw it, the poise, the perfect figure and great dress sense and that smell of must, she was a vampire, but this was a vampire that had years of breeding behind her. She was the sort of vampire you expected would say something like "sit" to a werewolf and Jake was suddenly very aware of his anger and it only made it worse that she had seen it. He said nothing though, allowing a watch officer to talk to another. 

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She could see the anger in Jakes eyes as she spoke to him, but at least him and Patrick were apart.

At the sound of Sallys voice and the scent of her, she felt her hackles wanting to rise, but forced herself to address her as a Sergeant should address a fellow officer

Jeannie explained the situation to the vampire officer, feeling her teeth and claws wanting to grow. Damn vampires, so perfectly poised, so sure of themselves...she took some of her own advice and kept the wolf under control.

As she watched Sally enter the room with Patrick, she leant back against the wall and looked at Jake.

"Well, now we have _two_ vampires in the next room. Why is it that each day seems to get worse and worse?"

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Patrick had noticed Igor taking up a blocking position between him and the door and was about to ask him why this was needed, when quite suddenly he was aware of another, stronger heartbeat outside.

_This is crazy...how can I feel this?_

As the new officer walked into the room Patrick was again feeling his need to flee or fight welling up inside him.

She introduced herself as Sally and asked Patrick to sit with her for a minute. At first he wasn't sure if he wanted to sit or run. The blood was pounding in his ears, his muscles were tight and his breathing deep.

He hesitated for a moment knowing that Jeannie and Jake were both just outside the door.

_Wolves..._

Again, came the soothing voice that whispered from everywhere and nowhere and once...

it's okay sit

Once seated next to Sally he began to stammer, blurting out bits and pieces of what he could remember from the last two days.

"...and then I wake up here. Everyone is either scared or angry with me and I can...feel things, know things, I shouldn't."

Sally sat and listened through the entire story without once interrupting. At the end, she looked him in the eye and reached slowly up to feel the wound on his neck. As she touched him, he felt a spark between them. He could feel her heart beating in her chest, he saw in his mind her home in Uberwald, he could...

"Sally. What's wrong with me?"

She stood up, still looking at him, carefully choosing the right tone of voice...

"There iz zome question az to if you were bitten by a...vampyre. It would explain zome of what you are feeling right now."

At first, he wasn't sure if he'd heard her correctly.

"No. Wait a minute, this is silly! I got thumped on the head this morning! I got sick, I'm not taking care of myself. Anything! but you're telling me I got bit by a..."

_Oh crap! My neck. The voice. The way everything is changing...oh gods. She's right..._

she's right

_Shut up! Shut up! Get out of my head!_

"I need to see them. I need to see my friends. Sally, stay here will you?"

_I'm ...going to be...I mean, I am a ...vampire? No...please no..._

Sally didn't seem thrilled with being in a small room such as the lab with another vampire and two werewolves, "Maybe ve could go somevere else? Out of the Watch house?"

go

"Yeah. I guess."

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As the door was flung open Jake leapt backwards as though someone had smacked him with a silver bar. He could smell the fear, the anger and the stress, not to mention the fact that there were not one, but two vampires in the next room and the wolf was beginning to make itself known. He saw Patrick in the doorway and smell of uncertainty engulfed him in a thick cloud, he knew would be a dark blue, speckled with green if he was the wolf.

"Patrick, you were bitten by a vampire and not in a good way."

Ws there a good way?

"You are a vampire, accept it and let's move on. You made the wrong move chasing the guy and now, you've got a long long…long long time to think about it."

He hoped that the mental slap would stop making Patrick smell of fear 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to do. She couldn't tell if she wanted to run away or not. After some thought she decided that after everything that's happened in the last few days, a vampire didn't seem all that frightening anymore. It was weird but she wasn't afraid at all. Patrick really looked terrified and panicky. Mrs. Wizzard wanted to make him feel calmer.

_Jeannie and Jake, please don't kill me for this_

Mrs. Wizzard stepped forward and walked right up to Patrick. Smiling she put her hand on his shoulder. She spoke softly.

"Don't be afraid, Patrick. We're not going to get anywhere with this unless you calm down. You'll be alright. We'll get this sorted out."

_sigh I am probaly in_ so _much troubel right now..._

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_Wolf! Pup! Who does he think he is talking to! He doesn't know me! He..._

relax

not here

Patrick felt the vice-like grip that Sally put on his elbow and let himself be led by her.  
Turning the corner he saw Jeannie and Mrs Wizzard.  
He wanted to tell them it wasn't his fault, he didn't want to be a...a..vampire. he just wanted to help them. Just wanted a quiet life in a decent city. No more killing...

He didn't say anything. He just walked with Sally

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie stayed lent against the wall, just watching everyone. She listened to Jakes harsh speech then watched as Mrs Wizzard walked up to Patrick to offer him the comfort he so obviously needed

She could feel the wolf stirring but there was another, bitter feeling... _This is my fault_

She stayed as she was as the little voice inside tormented her with its accusations.

_If you hadn't rushed off, he wouldn't have been there on his own.It should have been you who chased the vampire, not Patrick.It's your fault he got bitten  
_

she tried to shake herself out of it, she would be no use to anyone if she was like this. She looked at Patrick and thought _'You poor sod, you would have been so much better off if you hadn't met me, hadn't joined the watch'_

Well, there was no use thinking like that, what has happened has happened, Jake was right in that respect even if she didn't agree with the way he'd said it. The best thing she could do right now was try to help Patrick adjust to being changed. But how could a werewolf help a vampire?

She tried to ignore the smell of vampire as he and Sally came nearer, she found Sally's scent extremely annoying, she could feel her wolf wanting to come out... _no it's just the vampire smell, don't let the bloodsucker get to you!_ she could sense the tension between Patrick and Jake and just hoped neither one of them bit first.

She really wanted to get out of here, this was getting far too intense, she needed fresh air

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Wow, well this was just a fun party to be in wasn't it, two vampires, two werewolves a wizard and all of them shaken up in a watch house. Jeannie was looking, well she was not looking great, a little stressed perhaps. Jake realised that his shock tactics was obviously not the right route he should have gone down and decided that if he didn't want the wolf to throw down here and now he had to relax and he had to get everyone else to do so. He knew that the whole of Pseudopolis yard would descend upon them soon and wouldn't that be fun.

"CAN WE ALL JUST CALM DOWN FOR ONE SECOND!"

The silence was deafening, his own voice rang in his ears and he could hear a high pitch tinging sound. He'd either ruptured his ear drums or everyone had gone very VERY quiet.

"Have I gone deaf?"

He suddenly asked into the silence

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The volume of Jakes shout left her ears ringing, and the silence that followed was almost as deafening. It had certainly shocked her out of her own internal struggle.

She looked about, everyone was silent...ok, this wouldn't last long. If they were going to diffuse the situation then it had to be now.

"Sally, I think you should take Patrick somewhere quiet. He needs to come to terms with what has happened here, and having me and Jake here is not helping. Mrs Wizzard I think you should come with us. Jake lets get out of here"

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Mrs. Wizzard quietly followed them out of the room. When someone yelled that loud you didn't argue.

As the walked down the hall she laughed.

"I'm sorry, Jake, but that was just awesome." When she caught hold of herself and straightened up.

"ahem Sorry for that..So, what do we do now?"

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Walking down the hall, Mrs Wizzards laugh took Jeanie by surprise but made her smile. She gave a soft chuckle herself

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome Jake. Ever thought about joining up?You'd be good at crowd control"

She was just teasing him, but right now she needed something to take her mind off what had just happend.

"What now? Well, I promised Jake I'd help him get access to something that could help work out why he ended up in Sto Lat...we could do that I guess"

Although she never normally drank heavily what she really wanted right now was a drink, not the rats piss that they served in the Drum but a proper, good, strong drink. Seeing that happen to Patrick had really shaken her up, although there was no way she would admit it to her friends.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He watched as the only people that he knew in this city walked away, leaving him alone with Sally. Patrick was grateful for her company but wanted to run down the hall to his friends and just get on with the rest of his life.

_The rest of my life? How long will that be? A few centuries?... or until the next yahoo comes along with a stake ?_

He allowed Sally to take him to a quiet place somewhere where they wouldn't be disturbed. He listened very carefully.

"Patrick, I now zis must come as a shock to you, however, you are not the first - you won't be the last - and you will never be alone."

He sat and took in her every word, listening as she described the changes that would occur, slowly at first - then more frequently, sometimes violently. "You will want to kill. It isn't easy to control. There will be...problems."

He remembered the rage that had swelled up inside him at the sound of Jake's voice...

_That's not me...I'm not like that. Anymore._

He wanted to ask so many questions, but remained still, quiet. He felt like he'd just been told he had some disease, something horrible that would kill him. This was potentially more difficult - he could live forever.

"It's important to remain active. Social. Don't turn in on yourself. That's when things get bad. We," Sally said, "can help."  
She explained about the Black Ribboners.

Almost an hour went by, Sally giving him advice, Patrick listening...and coming to an understanding.

"Sally, Jeannie is my training officer. I'm trying to help her on a case. That's how this happened. I don't blame anyone. This was just an...accident? Can I still work here? With her? I mean, what happens if she goes all furry and I go batty at the same time? What about Jake or Mrs Wizzard?"

Sally looked at him and repeated, "You will never be alone. I think however that you and Jeannie should be okay. She's an experienced officer and is well in control of the wolf inside. I would suspect that Mrs. Wizzard will be able to take care of herself. Jake, however...strikes me as a bit of a...well, just don't go somewhere alone with him for awhile. You're not strong enough yet."

Patrick thought hard about this. He wondered if they all wouldn't be better off if he just packed and left tonight.

no stay you will be fine

"Maybe...I could go to them now. Uh, do I have to see the Commander? I could explain...

Sally assured Patrick that she would talk to Vimes herself and straighten everything out. She stood, smiling at him and grabbed his hand.

"Go and find zem. You should find that easier...now. And don't worry. You are still mostly 'human'. The transformation isn't complete yet. You can tolerate moderate sun and such. Just watch out that you don't take a bath in holy water or anything. By the way, you do need a bath. A couple of hours in the lab has a way of adding a whole new smell to your clothes."

Patrick sat for a minute more, making up his mind to continue helping his friends. His throat tightened up a bit and a tear ran down his cheek. Standing up, he walked out into the sun.

you will never be alone

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Jeannie, Jake and Mrs Wizzard walked out of the watchhouse. Walking into the sunlight Jeannie breathed in big lungfuls of air, the city air might not be the cleanest but it was better than the stink of Igors lab...and it cleared her nostrils of the scent of vampire, Sally had really irked her.

She looked at her friends "So then, are we heading to Jakes warehouse?"

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Jake wished Jeannie would stop calling it 'his' warehouse, it didn't belong to him, it just so happened that he needed money and Angua had come up with it. Unable to think of anything better Jake had really had no choice, unless he wanted to start digging a den for himself. He said nothing though and merely snorted now and again trying to get the milieu of smells form the watch house out of his nose. The walk was a quiet one, each of them were obviously occupied with their own thoughts and Jake had walked to the warehouse so many times he could have done it with his eyes closed.

Finally reaching it he realised how strange it looked, seeing the structure through human eyes and was only certain it was the right place because of the lingering familiar smells that hung in the air. Turning to a small hut just off of the warehouse he walked forwards and knocked, there was a frantic barking and a thud. The hut went quiet and the barking started up questioningly again, but without the conviction of before. A few moments later the door opened a crack and a glittering eye looked a them. The eye widened slightly and then the door slammed shut, there was a clatter of chain and the door was flung open, the dog bounding out, stopping dead when he caught the scent and lying down, putting it's paws over it's head, a very strange sight indeed.

"What do you want? If you're here about your money you can forget it, some watchman you are asleep on your create no doubt-"

Jake put his hand on the man's shoulder, he did not squeeze, simply rested it there. The man had gone completely silent and all colour had drained form his face.

"You…you take your 'and off me or I'll tell that watch officer who sent you 'ere in the first place."

Jake removed the hand, the man feeling more in control again puffed up at his evident power.

"I would like to see the ledger, what got stolen from the warehouse?"

The man's face screwed up.

"That ain't none of your business, it is between me and my client and it's gonna come out of your wages, they were not pleased when it disappeared you know."

Jake looked at Jeannie, it was clear he thought it would be far easier if she let him just fling the man to the ground and threaten to gouge out his throat, but he waited for her to nod that it was okay for him to do so

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie watched the exchange between Jake and the warehouse owner, she walked forward exuding the air of authority that came with being a watch sergeant, and one who was strong enough to rip the mans arms off if she really wanted too. She could see Jake wanting to have a go, she couldn't blame him she had taken an instant dislike to the man herself, but this had to be handled properly

She showed the man her badge,as she walked slowly towards him

"Sergeant Jeannie from the watch, so there _has been_ a crime on these premises?"

The man looked uncomfortable

"er, well...when I said it 'ad been stolen...wot I meant was...er..."

"I suggest, sir, that you let myself and my friend here find out what exactly has been taken, I'm sure you clients would appreciate an investigation into the disappearance of their property would they not?"

She watched him squirm, if he said no he was as good as admitting that he was involved in somthing illegal, if he said yes, then he would have to allow her and Jake to have access to the ledger or she could have him on a charge of obstructing the watch during an enquiry.

Scowling at Jake, he went back into his hut and came back with a grubby ledger which he gave to Jeannie. Taking pleasure in knowing it would wind the man up she graciously passed it to Jake.

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Mrs. Wizzard stands silently looking up at the warehouse. She remembered passing it many times while walking around the city, but this was the first time she actually _notices_ its existance. As far as she had been concerned, it was abandoned. It looked as if it might as well be, anyway.

Mrs. Wizzard sees the man who opens the door. He wasn't very pleasant to look at.

He's not pleasant to smell, either, Mrs. Wizzard thinks to herself, and stands there quietly trying to turn her nose _off_

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Taking the ledger he thumbs through it seeing a fair few inconsistencies from what he remembers guarding and what is down in the ledger, he'd love to take copies of all of these and lord it over him, but he knew it wasn't worth it. The inventory had the names and the addresses of people who had stored their crates there or who were supposed to pick them up. It took him a while but he eventually found a consignment that had no name for the person who had dropped off the crates and a note saying "missing" there was an address though and Jake winced.

"What did the person who dropped off the crates look like?"

In a final defiant act the man looked at Jeannie and replied.

"Don't know, he was tall, paid up front, said he wanted them kept safe."

He glared at Jake

Looking at Jeanie, Jake spoke.

"Looks like the crates were going to the Assassin's guild, but obviously they wouldn't be the ones that were going to steal them. It seems odd though that they didn't report the theft, although they probably think it 'guild business'".

Leaning closer he spoke more quiet so that only the two of his companions could hear him.

"This is getting higher and higher, messing around with the assassin's is never a good idea, even when…you're harder to kill than others." 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick walked through the streets of AM with a million thoughts running around his head. All he wanted to do now was keep busy and have something else to focus on.

_Jake's warehouse. She said Jake's warehouse...fine...where the heck is that?_

Looking around for any obvious signs - and finding none, he decided to head to the boarding house. He could get a quick wash-up there and would ask his landlady for assistance.

_Heh. I'm in the Watch and I have to ask my landlady for directions to a warehouse. Nice going._

Then he realized that meeting up with Jeannie, Mrs Wizzard and Jake would be a bit more complicated now...

_I guess we'll work this out. _

Again in his head and seemingly from all around him as well, came the voice. It was still soothing and calm, but somewhat more direct.

look

Stopping where he was in the street, Patrick looked around wondering what he was supposed to be searching for. As he looked to his right he caught his own reflection in the shop window.

_I guess she was right, the transformation isn't complete. Twenty-four hours she said.._

There! Behind him! The cloak, black as night! Turning around he sees the tail end of the cloak as the figure turns a corner and disappears down an alley.

you are never alone you will be safe

Patrick runs to the corner, this time slowing down enough to get a quick look before continuing. Seeing the way is clear, he takes off again, not as urgently this time. Looking in doorways, behind trashcans determined not be ambushed a second time. Coming to another alley he stops. Looking carefully he sees...

Nothing. Not one person to be seen coming or going in either direction. Whoever he's been chasing just vanished.

_I've got to find them. This can't be good. If I'm being followed so easily like this, then it might put the rest in danger._

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Jeannie nodded to Jake, he was right, dealing with the Assassins Guild was not a great move... even though her, Gigio and Mrs Wizzard had already dealt with them,the brothers had been hiding out in the guild before they were caught. But they hadn't been poking around into Guild business then, she doubted if Lord Downey would be as friendly this time.

She shrugged and replied "A crime is a crime no matter what, do you want me to follow it up? It could be your answer to why you woke up in Sto Lat...?"

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Mrs. Wizzard thinks for a minute before she speaks.

"Well, whoever's doing these crimes, we know that they're not afraid of the assassins, which isn't very good seeing as the assassins are high up in this city."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs Wizzard was right of course, anyone who was brave enought to steal from the assassins was either stupid enough to think they could get away with it or confident enough that it didn't matter if the Guild found out.

Standing outside the warehouse her mind working furiously Jeannie suddenly remembered what Jake had told her back in the Drum, that the scent in the warehouse has been the same one that he had smelt just before he was hit on the head and woke up in Sto Lat. When they were in Sto Lat he had smelt the scent again

"Jake, did the scent in the warehouse match the scent on that cloth Mrs Wizzard found?"

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Jake said nothing for a long while, he didn't want to put Jeannie and Mrs Wizard in anymore danger and besides they were quite busy enough with the investigation into the brothers. Closing the ledger wit ha snap he shoved it back to the man and began walking away, waiting for them to follow, he didn't know where he was going just knew that he no longer wanted to be here.

"The scent was similar but not the same, the only thing I can say is that there were certain colours in it that reminded me of the other one but it wasn't the same shade and no I don't want to follow it up. Whoever hit me over the head, it's not important and we have quite a lot to worry about at the moment without separating our efforts even further."

Besides he could get into the Assassin's guild by himself and didn't need the back up. He would just have to wait until he was alone. All of a sudden he stopped dead and sniffed, the hairs on the back of his neck rising, but he tried to brush his neck quickly trying to make them lower.

"Can either of you smell Patrick?" 

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Walking along side Jake and Mrs Wizzard, Jeannie shrugged

"OK Jake, if you are sure then I won't take this one any further"

She hated leaving things unsolved but it was up to him of course, and he was right there was plenty to worry about besides that

When Jakes stopped, she detected the scent at the same time. It was still Patricks scent but slightly different now..well that was to be expected

She nodded, "It smells like he came past here not long ago, he went down that alley"

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From this angle, the alley looked very dark. Probaly appealing to a vampire, but Mrs. Wizzard wasn't sure if Patrick was strong enough to control urges yet.

"You two wait here," she says, and begins to quietly tiptoe towards the alleyway's entrance. Stopping at the side, she turns her head and looks inside the alley...

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Patrick stood in the alley, not completely convinced that the person he'd been chasing was really gone.

_Either this guy - or whatever it is - can move like lightning, or...I'm seeing things?_

From behind him Patrick gets the feeling he's being watched. Backing up against the wall he tries to quiet his racing heart and breathing, still ragged from the newest chase.

_A heartbeat..._

Looking back towards the way he just came from, Patrick can just make out the figure of Mrs Wizzard.

_Well, I guess this is it. Time to see what happens next._

Stepping out from the wall he slowly walks towards Mrs Wizzard and as he gets closer, becomes aware of two more distinct heartbeats.  
A nervous sort of energy wells up inside him; something more that a simple fight or flight response. Adrenaline yes, excitement yes, but something more...primative.

no

That voice again. patrick wonders if all vampires can hear this voice. maybe it's the one that bit him. He should ask Sally.

Coming closer to Mrs. Wizzard, he can feel her life force coursing through her body. Her breathing sounds like the wind, every movement she makes is magnified and exaggerated.

NO!

Stopping in his tracks he's close enough to touch her now, but refrains from acting on the urge pestering him from within.

"Mrs. Wizzard. You...uh..you found me I see. Good. I was trying to find you as well. The..uh..investigation. If...you'll have me, I'd still like to help."

Now he can feel both Jake and Jeannie close by. He can actually tell the three of them apart by the feel of their hearbeats. The force surrounding them.

_In a city this big, I wonder if I'll ever get used to this?_

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Jeannie heard the conversation between Mrs Wizzard and Patrick and felt the adreniline begin to pump.

OK, well this had to happen sooner or later, and she was still his sergeant. She could deal with this, she _had_ to deal with it

She walked slowly towards Patrick, and took a good look at him. He did smell slightly different, but didn't seem to give off the air of arrogance that Sally had, which had admittedly really wound her up but she wasn't getting that from Patrick. Ok, this wasn't too bad, he was still Patrick but with...different skills thats all. Just think of it like that, she told herself.

She stood and crossed her arms in mock seriousness as she addressed him

"Darn right you'll help, lance-constable! we have suspects to question and information to gather. Now are you going to skulk in alleys all day or are you going to get out here and help?"

She gave him a smile, and felt herself breath a sigh of relief. This was going much better than she had feared it would.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick stood still as Jeannie walked toward him. There was a part of him that was very confused about all this, probably would be for sometime to come. But seeing her here, right now, with Jake and Mrs Wizzard, Patrick realized that these three people would be the ones to help him get through the next few days or weeks of his life.

"Thanks Jeannie. I'm ready. I think. Must admit, this isn't what I had in mind when I stepped off the coach, but it is what it is. You don't mind having me around and I won't mind being here. Fair?"

Patrick felt a great weight lifted off him at that moment.

_I've got to show them I can do this._

Looking back at Mrs Wizzard he knew that he couldn't have hurt her. For a second there he wondered...but no.

Looking at Jake, Patrick decided that they had got off on the wrong foot this morning. He would do his best to keep things quiet and move on for the good of the team.

good

"I guess I should tell you now, I think I was followed here from the Watch House. I only came down this alley because I thought I saw the same figure that I had chased this morning. We may be being watched right now. I can't tell. Maybe you can...smell someone? Anything?"

_If they can, maybe I'm not seeing things afterall._

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Jeannie sniffed the air "I can't smell anything strongly here, I'll go check the alley"

She walked right down to the end, still nothing. Glancing round to make sure she was out of sight she changed to wolf form.

Ah, there it was. Definitly the same scent as the cloth. It came right down the alley and then up the wall at the end on to the roofs. Well, their mysterious observer sure liked to use the roofs.

She began to walk back to her friends then rememberd she was still a wolf. She went back to her clothes, and emerged out of the alley adjusting her shirt.

She answered Patricks questioning look

"I could smell it, it went to the end then up towards the rooftops. I can't tell if it's still watching us but it was definitly here"

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Lowering his voice a bit..

"Okay, let me get this right. First we get followed on our way to the Dwarf Bread Museum. The guy, or whoever is on the roof. The second time that Mrs Wizzard and I went back to look for clues, this thing is up on the roof when we get there. Now was that just a lucky strike or are we being watched?"

"Then, I chase this...vampire - we know that now - and get bit. A few hours after that I see it again and you can tell someone has been here.  
Are we being watched or manipulated in some way? It just seems too coincidental that we'd run into someone on the rooftops in the same area in such a short frame of time."

_What would a vampire have to do with this? Is he or she working for their own best interest or are they doing this for someone else?_

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Jeannie replied in a low voice

"I think it was purely observational until it bit you..what it's reasons were for doing that I'm don't know. I don't like it I know that much, although I don't feel like I'm being watched right now.  
Vampires can hear hearts can't they? Can you sense anything?"

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"Well, you see, I'm kind of new to this, but no I don't. In fact, now that I think about it, I don't think I felt him or her at all. I didn't sense anything until Mrs Wizzard came into the alley."

_It couldn't have been a dream, Jeannie can smell it._

"I didn't know I was being followed initially until...well...I heard this voice. I know this is going to sound strange, but since this morning, I've been hearing this voice; calm and soothing. Can't tell if it's trying to help, but when I was out in the street looking for you all, it told me to look - just 'look'. When I did, I saw it in the reflection of a window."

Seeing the look on everyone's faces he continues...

"I said it would sound strange. But no, I can't feel anything now. I think maybe this new found 'gift' might have a limitation in range - only a few yards at best."

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As Patrick had drawn closer to all of them, Jake had felt his skin crawl and he was aware that his heartbeat had quickened before slowing into a beat that would save energy which only happened when he had been tracking prey. Trying to rid his nostrils of the smell of vampire he remained at a distance just on the border of discrete. He said nothing as everything was discussed but he could feel a rising irritation that someone, and he didn't know who, was keeping tabs on them, not only was that irritating but the reason for it was unclear.

"What is the point in keeping us under surveillance and not doing anything? The only reason they can't have moved in on us yet is because we're proving to be little threat which means that we are not getting anywhere. The only way to get these people to act is if we get closer to their goal, he need to do…something."

He finished in exasperation at last. To disappear off to the Assassins Guild now would be stupid and would raise his companions suspicions he would have to wait for a bit, but he knew that was where his answers lay. 

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Jeannie understood Jakes exasperation, she was feeling it herself. She found herself watching Jake, nervous about him and Patrick being so close. If he was finding it a problem he was hiding it pretty well, but she noticed how he was deliberatly staying at a distance...probably a good thing given the circumstances

"One of them did act, It bit my officer!"

She snapped before she could stop herself, Jake wasn't the only one feeling on edge right now. She lowerd her voice back down

"Sorry, I'm just a bit...oh,nevermind."

She looked around, she was still sensing nothing unusual down here.

"Look, the only way we are going to actually get somewhere with this thing thats following us is to follow the trail, maybe if me and Jake go up on the roofs we can track the scent trail. Bewtween the two of us we should be able to follow it with out any problems. Patrick and Mrs Wizzard, you keep up with us on ground level and see if you can spot anything."

and you're both safer down here, she added to herself

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'Jake wasn't sure about the plan, there were many scents even up in the rooftops, but he said nothing, if they lost the scent perhaps a gargoyle could help them and it would certainly mean he was away from Patrick and chasing after a vampire he was allowed to savage.

"Fine let's do this."

Feeling a rising impatience to catch the scent and get on this guys trail Jake walked into the alley and with a strength no human should be allowed, he hoisted himself up a wall, clambering inexpertly but quickly until he disappeared over the lip of the wall and there was a dull thud and a small puff of dust rose from the other side of the room. As Jake appeared again eh was spluttering and wiping dust from his face but otherwise fine. He looked down at Jeannie impatiently waiting for her to get to him. 

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She hadn't expected Jake to be quite so keen but there was no point in hanging around.

She followed him with ease and joined him up on the roof as he wiped the rest of the dust off his face

She stood still and concentrated on trying to locate the scent, it was faint but was there alright.

"Ok then this way"

she set off, easily clambering over and around the various shapes on the roofs, this being Ankh Morpork alot of the buildings had been crammed in where ever they fit which made for a very interesting skyline. She glanced down into the street, good, Mrs Wizzard and Patrick were kepping up with no problems.  
_not surprising really, they have a nice flat street to walk on_ , she thought as she nearly lost her footing on a loose tile

As they made their way through the roofs she wonderd if this was really such a good idea, but it was the only way they could even try and track this thing. She really wanted to get her hands on whoever it was who had been spying on them, and bitten Patrick.

She stopped, and turned round to Jake  
"Damn it! I've lost it, can you smell it anywhere near you?"

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Patrick followed with Mrs Wizzard, trying to guess where the two above would be at each step.

He decided that covering the corners would be a good tactic; this way either he or Mrs Wizzard could see if someone jumped from one roof to the next or tried to come down to ground level.

He looked into each open doorway and window and found Mrs Wizzard doing the same.

_If it's here, we should spot something..._

He was just able to feel Jeannie and Jake above; this was becoming easier. He was also aware of others inside the buildings, probably families and shopkeepers.

_I'm getting ...stronger? Part of the transformation that Sally warned me about_

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As the two of them walked along Mrs. Wizzard's eyes were darting around faster than anyone could follow, inspecting every living thing in sight. If there was anyone suspicious around, her eyes would let her know.

As her eyes searched her surroundings, Mrs. Wizzard caught a quick glimpse of Patrick. she wasn't sure what it was but his presence felt...different, as if his aura was changing.

Dismissing this thought for now, Mrs. Wizzard continued her search. As she did so, she could almost hear Jeannie and Jake up on the rooftops

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Jake came to a stop catching himself just in time to avert a nasty tumble onto the street and looked around straining his nose. He lowered his face to roof (how many times do people get to say that?) and cursed

"No I-"

There it was and it arched over an alleyway. Jake jumped and landed badly, rolling as he did, it was probably the bad landing that saved his life as a glimmering streak of silver clipped a chimney in an explosion of brick and dust. There was a searing pain in his right shoulder a silver bolt had torn a deep gouge into it, but had missed burying itself in his flesh, instead coming to rest in the chimney. Looking up he saw a cloak disappearing behind another chimney and continue running.

"For Chrys sake does everyone carry damn silver."

He could feel his skin bubbling and blood oozing. With an effort that ripped a whimper from him he managed to wrench himself from the crossbow.

"KEEP GOING!"

He shouted at Jeannie as she drew closer.

"I'll be alright, when they try to kill you, you know you're doing well, I'll catch up…GO!"

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Jeannie jumped across the alley and landed on the rooftop near Jake. She knew he was right, she should go on, but seeing him hurt made her stop.

Hearing his whimper as he tore himself from the crossbow bolt, she felt the rage bubble. Whoever was doing this was going to pay! Enough was enough, this stops now!

With a low growl in her throat she ran after the figure who was running like a thing possessed across the roofs. She closed the distance easily, the adrenaline adding to her usual stamina

She could see it fumbling with the cross bow as it ran, probably trying to load another shot, well she wasn't going to give it that chance. She sped up, jumping over gaps and chimneys without even really noticing them

She reached out as she neared the figure, felt the cloth in her hands and leapt

She rolled the vampire over as she wrestled with it, she wanted to rip its damn throat out. It had bitten Patrick, then hurt Jake...but the part of her that was always a watchman stepped up to the front of her mind, and instead...

"you're nicked pal!"

_ooo-kay, I have the vampire here and no way of calling for back up, good move sergeant_ she mentally berated herself

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Jake could smell the scent of his own flesh burning and blood flowed freely from the wound. It was clear if he didn't stem the flow he was going to be too dizzy to get down or follow. Ripping his already ruined shirt he did his best to tear the pieces into strips using his teeth and good arm before wadding up the wound and securing it with another piece. Being a werewolf usually meant you were pretty good at dealing with flesh wounds, but this, he had to admit, was a bit graver than the ones he was used to. After he had dealt with his injury the best he could he stood, wincing as daggers seemed to shoot through him, his body had to heal this, this was not the time to be injured.

By the time he had managed to catch up the wadded cloth was starting to seep red, but he could feel the wound crusting over. His gaze slid over Jeannie and straight to the vampire with the crossbow.

"You…little !"

He gasped feeling the prickling all over him as the wolf and his anger seemed to mix together, but he needed hands for what he planned, he knew that vampires were hard to kill, but it made it all the more satisfying. Searching around Jake's eyes rested on a beam, with his good arm, his strength and the adrenaline that coursed through him he tore off a section of wood.

"Stake through the heart right? Okay that'll kill you, but how about stake through the stomach!" 

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Jeannie could see the wound on Jake shoulder as he approached, it looked pretty bad. What was worse though was the rage she could see in his face. She had seen that look before, although not on Jake

Oh great, so she was pinning down a vampire, who had shot Jake with a silver bolt, she had no back up and now it looked like Jake was going to try to kill it. Part of her really wanted to let him do it too, it had bitten Patrick and it had shot Jake with silver! But they needed to know what it knew, and they couldn't do that if it was dead

It struggled even more beneath her when Jake tore off the wood, fighting to keep hold of the vampire she shouted to Jake, hoping that he would listen to her despite his rage

"NOT YET JAKE! WE NEED IT TO TALK!"

It crossed her mind though that it was much more likely to do that if it thought there was a chance of having a stake rammed into it.

The vampire wasn't stupid however,and although it hadn't managed to load the crossbow it still had the silver bolt in its hand, as Jeannie struggled with it it managed to free its arm and dragged the sharp bolt down the length of her arm

She screamed between clenched teeth and bashed it's arm against the roof until it dropped the bolt. It's fingers were bleeding now, and she was pissed off, she could smell blood all around her and the vampire scent cut through it, controlling the wolf was becoming hard but she had to stay on top of it.

She could smell the silver wound on her arm, and feel the blood trickling down. _Oh crap, that really really bloody hurts!_

Her eyes were almost glowing with barely surpressed rage as she screamed at it

"Try anything like that again and I'll let him stick that stake wherever he damn well wants to! understand! Now you have one chance, tell me why the bloody hell you've been spying on us or I'll let you go and I'm not responsible for what my friend here will do to you you bstard!"

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Patrick had heard the shout above him after Jake had cleared the gap and saw the chase begin as Jeannie charged from one rooftop to the next.

Both heartbeats above were strong now; he could sense that Jake was staying in one spot and Jeannie was on the move. There was also something ...else.

"Mrs Wizzard! This way!"

Keeping up with the chase as best they could from the ground the two moved through the alley for some way.

"Wait. They stopped. Jeannie and whoever she was chasing are just up there. Jake is still behind a bit but moving. I wonder if he got hurt? You take this corner and keep an eye out in case this thing starts running again. I'll take the far corner."

_Jeannie has...it. Jake is moving up from behind. If we cover this end then it doesn't have anywhere to go._

it?

you must really learn your place

_I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I'm getting tired of this!_

Remaining on street level, he watched the roofline. "Sergeant! You okay up there?"

There was another scream!

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Jeannie's words had restrained him, but the sight of silver and the smell of yet another burning wound made him almost lose complete control and he jammed the makeshift stake in arm of the vampire that had held the bolt.

"I won't stake you in the heart, but I am aware how much you can live through."

The vampire shrieked, the sound high pitched and despite himself he felt all the frustration all the anger and all the confusion pound out through that stab and blossom into satisfaction, he twisted the stake and watched the vampires fingers flex involuntarily.

"Watch Brutality!"

The vampire shouted

"I am not part of it!" Jake said through gritted teeth. 

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Mrs. Wizzard almost gagged as she watched Jake twist the stake around in the vampire's arm. Involuntarily, she began clenching her own arm. This whole thing make her sick to her stomach.

Remembering her postition, Mrs. Wizzard shook her head and tried to stay focused. If that vampire started running her way, she had to be ready. She kept her eyes on Jake and the vampire, while her stomach was doing flips

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Patrick heard more screaming and some kind of commotion from up on the roof. He knew that Jake and Jeannie were alive and could feel the third presence as well.

Not able to contain himself anymore he ran to Mrs Wizzard, "I'm going up!"

Climbing the fire-escape he reached the roof and took in the scene. He could see the wounds on both of them and could now actually smell the blood. A slightly metallic smell that at that moment overpowered every other smell this city was offering up. Then he noticed the creature on the ground with a stake in it's arm...

are you going to help?

_Help who? That thing? I'm not sure I would had staked it in the arm; I would have killed it._

really? you are going to need some work i see.

"Sarge! Everybody alright?

He couldn't tear his eyes away from the wounds.

"This is it? The one that bit me? The one following us?"

When Sally had touched him earlier, he 'saw' a history of her and her family going back generations. He became aware of her thoughts, her feelings. Looking down at this vampire, he felt nothing. He wasn't about to try to touch him just yet either.

Becoming acutely tuned to the two werewolves and the boiling tempers, he decided to stay out of the way for a minute.

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Still almost consumed with rage, Jeannie felt no pity what so ever for it as she watched Jake twist the stake into the vampires arm. A small dark part of her wished he _had_ staked it in the heart.

Her arm was burning where the silver had gouged her and it felt weak, thankfully the stake in the vampires arm meant she could let go of it for a while

The vampire eyes grew wider at the realisation that she really would let Jake get stake happy if he didn't answer her question

"You think I don't mean it? TALK! Why spy on us? Why bite my officer?...TALK! YOU BLOODSUCKING PIECE OF..."

The vampire held up its free hand

"ok ok, just call him off will you?"

"Not on your life!Tell me who your working for, is it the Dun brothers?"

to her complete amazement the vampire laughed

"Them? No, my employer is much higher than them...although he was admittedly rather annoyed when you arrested them. It did put a bit of a spanner in the works, losing four of his operatives"

Jeannie said nothing, she simply glared at the stricken vampire.  
The vampire was watching her intently,  
_you better not be trying to get into my head you bastard_ she thought

It carried on talking

"I will not tell you anymore. Whatever you or your friend do to me it will be nothing compared to the suffering I'd be forced to endure if I betrayed my employer"

Jeannie sat back, "Really? Jake? whenever you're ready"

The vampire looked uncertainly from her to Jake

"You wouldn't...it's brutality"

Jeannie shrugged, and gestured over to Patrick

"You assaulted my officer, you bit him! Anything I do now won't be frowned on by any copper once they know that! And you assaulted an unarmed civilian" she added nodding towards Jake "I'm just doing what is nessecary to capture an armed vampire who is resisting arrest"

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Mrs. Wizzard scrambled up the fire escape shorty after Patrick. She got to the top in time to hear the vampire's confession. By this point she was so angry with it that her hat almost went up in flames.

"Okay, you son of a !" This got the vampire's attention. "You had better tell us who you're working for or that stake is going to be the absolute least of your worries when I'm through with you!"

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Patrick stared at Mrs Wizzard for a second, seeing a definite change in her. One flick of her wrist could turn them all to ash. He wasn't sure what he could do, but something had to give.

_I know they can heal themselves, but Jake could probably stand a few minutes of pampering from Igor._

Moving slowly towards Jake he reached out a hand to secure the hasty dressings that covered the wound.

"Give me a second here, okay?"

Looking from Mrs Wizzard to Jeannie, Patrick tried to speak in the calmest voice he could muster.

"Sarge? Maybe we should get everyone back to the Watch House? Igor can patch everyone up and we'll have a controlled space to ...talk...to it."

you will have to kill him

_I'm not killin' anybody! I'm trying to stop that from happening._

Satisfied with the dressing he moved toward Jeannie, careful not to look at the thing lying there.

"Let me see that arm."

Gods! The smell of blood was strong. His stomach felt weak.

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Jeannie allowed Patrick to examine her wound, she knew it would look a mess, and it was still bleeding although the flow was slowing. Pretty soon it would stop, but it was going to hurt like hell for a while.

She was more worried about Jake than she was for herself, the dressing on his wound was bloody and she couldn't be sure but he had probably lost a fair bit of blood, it had looked like that bolt had cut deep.

"Damn silver" she murmerd softly.

She looked up at Patrick, and nodded  
"you're right. Lets get this under control. Back to the watch house...yep."

She tried to ignore the burning, stinging feeling that was filling her left arm.

The vampire was certainly unsure about Mrs Wizzard, Jeannie had never seen her so angry. Well, with Mrs Wizzard menacing the bloodsucker like that getting it back to the watch house should be no problem.

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Mrs. Wizzard began to cool off. Going back to the Watch House sounded like a good idea. At least then they wouldn't have to keep playing hide-and-go-kill with this vapire all day.

As they (eventually) got everyone off of the roof, the group started walking to the Watch House, the vampire in a pair of makeshift handcuffs. Mrs. Wizzard began smiling a little to herself. Scaring a vampire, even only a little, was more than she'd accomplished a lot of her life

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Patrick walked with the group, glad that for the minute, things were...calm.

Trying to follow what was going on, he ran what he'd just heard through his mind.

_He says he doesn't work for the Dun Brothers. They all apparently work for the same person. _

Something in the way he said that his employer was angry about losing "four of his operatives", led Patrick to think that there were more... possibly many more.

And... _He said nothing Jake could do to him would be worse than what he'd face if he betrayed his employer. Who or what could possibly scare a vampire? I mean, a vampire for Om's sake!_

Another vampire?

you'll have to kill him

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Jeannie walked along in silence, now that the adrenaline was wearing off the pain from the gash down her arm was really making itself known.

She concentrated on walking and blinked back the tears that the agonizing, eye watering pain was causing...making sure that the vampire didn't see. She didn't want it getting any satisfaction from the injuries it had inflicted.

The walk to the watch house seemed much longer than it must have been in reality, and she was relieved to see the shape of Psuedopolis Yard as they drew near it. She would feel much beter when the vampire was locked up and Igor had seen to Jake.

Patrick seemed to be deep in thought, she realised she hadnt had a proper conversation with him since the change. Well once they were sorted out she would have a good chat with him. She was curious too, his new gifts must be getting stronger now, and she wondered if he was still hearing that voice he'd mentioned...that worried her.

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Jake could feel the blood loos fuelling his anger, it had gone past that though, it was rage, but the rage was so hot he was having trouble thinking about anything else. He leant on the impromptu stake and as the vampire refused to talk he twisted it once again.

"Do you think so, do you think he could hurt you more than me, do you eve know who I am!"

Jake knelt down and whispered something into the vampire's ear and the vampire screeched

"Take me to the watch-house!"

He Mrs Wizard clamber up and her anger seemed to fuel his own, so much so that by the time Patrick appeared he was having to close his eyes and concentrate. The past few days had been filled with confusion, with people trying to kill them and now this injury, he noted that the wadded cloth was soaked with blood. When Patrick reached for him he yelled, his vocal cords seeming to be confused between wolf and human so that his words came out cutteral and menacing.

"Don't touch me!"

Somehow he allowed the vampire to be taken away and he follow, but he said nothing as they walked to the watch house his eyes never leaving the two vampires, for that's all the Patrick was now, another vampire. 

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Reaching the watch house, the group walked inside.  
Jeannie turned to Patrick with a sigh,  
"Get it down to the cells will you please Patrick? I just want it out of my sight for now. The officers at the desk will help with the keys and paperwork...thanks. I'll be along later."

She turned to Jake, he looked very pale.He must have lost quite a bit of blood, the dressing on his shoulder was completely soaked with blood. She gently put her hand on his good shoulder to get his attention, he still seemed full of rage and was staring at the vampire...and at Patrick, she noticed with a sinking feeling.

"Come on, let's get you down to Igor."

As they began to walk she asked him

"You don't have to tell me, but what did you say to it back there? It looked like you scared it senseless!"

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Mrs. Wizzard decided to go along with Patrick and the vampire. She wasn't sure if Patrick could fall under the influence of the vampire that bit him, and from the way Jake looked right now, it appeared Jeannie would be the only one who could get through to him at the moment.

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_Shadow seemed to hang thick and suffocating over the sell, the small dim light enough for the creature lying in the corner on the floor. There was a movement in the shadows and the figure moved, following the movement as it came closer. It was odd there was no sound, just the sense of the shadow moving….and then…..screaming_

Jake's eyes snapped open, he was on igor's table. How the hell had he get here? Sitting up his head spun and the room lurched alarmingly, but he managed to stay upright. Igor's needle and thread went flying out of his hands, but he did not look surprised or annoyed.

"What's going on!"

He demanded with the authority of one who expects an answer.

"Thergeant Jeannie and Yourthelf came down thir, I am jutht fixing your wound for you."

The traces of vampire still clung to his nostrils and reminded him of the one they had just caught. He was fed up of this, he was going to find out once and for all who the hell this guy was working for and then was going to give them the shock of their lives.

"You have lotht a lot of blood thir, I would recommend rethting for a few hourth."

Jason shook his head and looked at the wound, it was partially stitched.

"Finish stitching it and then I need to go." 

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Jeannie sat in the corner of Igors lab, Igor had given her some strange green ointment to put on her arm, disgusting though it was it had taken the edge off a lot of the pain. Although her arm still felt weak, it wasn't burning anymore.

As she wrapped a bandage around her arm she heard Jake wake up. Sounded like he didn't even remember getting down here, not surprising really, he had looked terribly pale and had become very unsteady on the way down.

Well, he didn't need babysitting,Igor could deal wiht him, although she could guess that Jake would make for a very stubborn patient.

She stood up and walked towards the door, her shirt was torn all over from the chase and the fight, she could smell the vampire on her and she was covered in dry blood. She would have to grit her teeth and tolerate one of the showers...one good thing about back in Uberwald there was always a handy river or pool to wash in, all there was in this city was a b-a-t-h or the river Ankh,which was not even close to being classified as water.  
She wanted to clean up and get some fresh clothes from her locker, then get Detritus and a couple of other strong officers as back up while she found out what that damn vampire was hiding from them.

she over heard Igor telling Jake to rest and Jakes refusal, she wasn't surprised. Well, he probably wouldn't listen to her either but at least she could say she had tried. She turned to him before leaving the room

"Jake, listen to me you could barely walk down here after losing all that blood, I had to support you for the last few steps. You should really listen to Igor"

She didn't bother to wait for his reply, he hated pity she knew that from trying to help him in Sto Lat, so he probably wouldn't take kindly to her concern

She headed to the showers, she had to get the stink of vampire off her

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Jeannie seemed to be in a strange mood, almost resigned or spent? Well it was probably exhaustion he knew he was tired.

"No, just stitch it and my body will do the rest, I'm too busy to be sitting around waiting for me to catch up with myself."

He sat impatiently waiting for igor to finish and trying to stop himself from throwing up. He was a lot cleaner now compared to when he came in, obviously igor had cleaned him up. Grabbing his clothes and managing to scrounge a new shirt he dressed, with igors help (always hard to dress yourself when one arm still refuses to work properly. Finally he went to push himself up and collapsed. It almost looked comical as one minute he was sittin up and the next he had disappeared behind the table.

"Right right, bad arm, forgot, can't use that yet."

Clambering to his feet he followed Jeannie's trail until he came to a door, flinging it open he walked in, there was a form behind a curtain, it must be Jeannie. Standing there he spoke.

"Will you let me question the vampire?" 

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Jeannie stood under the shower letting the water wash away the stink of the vampire and the blood.  
That pet shampoo from Dibbler really was pretty good  
As she was washing the shampoo out of her hair she heard the door open, and Jakes voice.

_Huh!_

Ok, this was awkward. She was in the shower, her towel and clothes were on the other side of the curtain and she was surrounded by the scent of male werewolf.

She managed to speak, once the surprise at Jake walking in had worn off and reached one arm out from behind the curtain

"um, pass me my towel will you? Thanks"

Wrapping her towel securely underneath her arms she stepped out of the shower

"Ok, say that again...you, er, took me by surprise"

Jake repeated his question. Jeannie thought about it, trying to seem authoritive...which is not easy when wearing a towel

"Well, if it was up to me I would be happy to let you question it, you certainly seemed to make an impression on the blood sucker. But letting non-watch officers question a suspect is a bit of a problem. I'll try and think of a way around it though"

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He hadn't even though about it and now that she stood there dripping and wrapped in nothing but a towel he concentrated on his anger and the pain in his arm to stop his mind from wondering. Instead he sat down and turned away form her, he could feel his heart pumping harder and knew that he was still trying to get back lost blood, it made him thirsty and he could feel the wolf more acutely, although it to was woozy.

"I need to be in there, we need answers and I know he will speak to me."

What he had whispered to the vampire had been a long shot, but seeing his reaction Jake knew he could get the information he wanted from him, or at least part of it.

"And don't tell me it's not up to you, if you say yes people listen, I've seen it." 

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"I'm a sergeant, they have to listen...but I have officers above me too."

She knew he was right though. He still hadn't told her what he'd said to the vampire but whatever it was he had frightened it. Jake had a much better chance of getting it to talk

She went quiet for a little while, finally she spoke again in a low voice

"Ok Jake, you can come in to the interview. But I'll put it in the records that you were there as a witness to the crime, and because you wish to press charges for assault...actually make that attempted murder. Igor will give me a medical report to comfirm that it attacked you whilst you were helping the watch"

She knelt down next to him, he was looking better, there was a bit more colour to his face but he still seemed a bit woozy

"Before we go...are you ok? You seemed in a bad way before I got you to Igor"

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Jason could still feel the anger in him, still feel the desire to hurt the vampire, the blood sucker had the audacity to shoot him with silver?

"You can say whatever you want as long as I'm in the room. Unless of course the thing presses charges for me spearing it, I'm sure there's a law against that."

He flex the fingerso n his arm, at least he could feel it again now. Saying nothing he looked at her, she looked very nice in a towel and she might actually be a nice person, despite being a watch officer of course.

"When you got me down to igor I had been skewered by a silver bolt, I was feeling a bit out of sorts."

He smiled faintly, although he did not feel humours in the least.

"I'm still angry and frustrated, I want to nail these guys and where the hell did everyone get silver weapons form? I want him to talk and he will eventually, it's just a shame he's in the watch house."

It had been a mistake he realised now to say what he did to the vampire, but it was done now and he supposed there was nothing that could be done about it.

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"If it does have the nerve to try and press charges against you for staking it I'll make a statement that I saw you do it in justified self defence. It had already tried to kill you, so there won't be any problems making that story stand"

_Besides,_ she added to herself, _I'd be amazed if it tries to piss you off. Whatever you said to it, it didn't like it one bit_

"I understand you are angry...I was pretty wound up back there myself, but try and keep a lid on the anger in the interview room ok? If any accusations arise about brutality in the watch house it'll be me who gets it in the neck...no pun intended" She said with a faint smile of her own

Looking back at him she was suddenly very concious that she was wearing very little

Jeannie held onto the front of her towel, as she stood up again.

"um, well perhaps I should get dressed now. I don't think I'll get much respect around here if I carry out a interrogation wearing a towel" she said with a nervous grin

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"Thank you, but you don't need to cover for me, when I staked that thing I was quite ready to keep him alive and just poke him full of holes."

It had taken him back, and not in a good way.

"I don't want you to get in trouble because of me, I will stay calm."

"Well I would respect you."

He smiles crossing his arms as if he were going to sit there and watch, the look she gave him though made him stand up walk to the door.

"I'll be waiting outside then."

He paused at the door for a moment and turned around.

"In answer to your question before…"

Again he paused as though hesitating.

"I told him who I was."

With that answer, that must have seemed so cryptic to her, he opened the door and walked out. 

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She felt herself blushing at his comment about the towel, and despite the look she gave him when he crossed his arms and smiled, she couldn't help but grin at his cheekiness when he had gone.

The conversation with Jake left Jeannie feeling many things...mostly confusion at his last sentence

She ran through what had been said during the conversation in her head as she dressed. Maybe she shouldn't have offerd to cover for him but she's be damned if she was going to let someone who had assulted two watch officers and tried to kill one of her friends try and pin a charge on one of them

Drying and brushing her hair, she found herself smiling at the end of the conversation. Jake really did have a nice smile, it was a shame he didn't use it more often.

She opended the door, he was waiting outside

"Ok, now I'm looking more like a sergeant shall we get this interview started?" she asked as she brushed past him taking care not to disturb his bad arm, and headed in the direction of the cells

As they walked, she couldn't help but ask.

"So...who are you then?"

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick had escorted the vampire to a holding cell without incident. The other watch officers were curious having not seen him before, but just the mention of Jeannies name gave him whatever clearances he needed.

He sat on a stool just outside of the cell, Mrs Wizzard next to him. Looking at the creature before him Patrick tried to resolve the small argument going on in his mind.  
Finally speaking, he addressd the vampire.

"Why did you attack me?"

The vampire did not react to him. He didn't seem to be aware of Patrick or Mrs Wizzard even being in the room.

"I said, why did you bite me? I wasn't a real threat to you. You knocked me out all too easily. You could have left me..." Patrick felt his throat tightening, his eyes welling up. "Why? What did I do to you? TELL ME YOU SON OF A BI-"

Patrick felt Mrs Wizzard place her hand on his shoulder. He couldn't hold it back anymore. The tears flowed freely and he sobbed for the first time many years.

"You could have just walked away! You could have left me! I don't want this!" He hunched forward on the stool unable to control the tears or the growing frustration.

Finally a reaction. Slowly looking up at Patrick, the vampire smiled. It smiled! He looked at Patrick and smiled and began to chuckle, like a bully that knows he's hurt someone and can't be touched.

Through the tears Patrick saw the vampires face and hate filled him in an instant. His sobbs turned to a low growl as his muscles tensed. Tunnel vision prevented him from seeing anythin else in the room except that cell with that...

you'll have to kill him

Time slowed. He didn't even feel Mrs Wizzard trying to hold his shoulder. He leapt from the stool and covered the distance to the cell door in one movement. Reaching through the bars he grabbed the vampire by the neck It had already reacted and fangs gleamed as its eyes truned to a crimson red.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

Patrick heard the voice but didn't realize it had come from him. It was a deep growling animal voice. The kind that started somewhere deep in the chest and rattled the teeth as it came out.

His arm strained as he fought to keep his grip around the things throat.

kill him

The room disappeared as the vampire filled Patricks vision. His blood pounded in his ears and the tears turned to fury.

The vampire hissed and growled back at him actually climbing up the bars of the cell to gain an advantage. Reaching out with his own hand, he grabbed Patricks hand...

Patrick screamed out in pain but held on to his prey. His mind was filled with blackness. Shapes moved in the darkness but could not be made out clearly. Not letting go, Patrick squeezed tighter than would be needed to snap a normal mans neck.

The vampire growled again and ripped Patrick's hand off his throat tearing away some flesh as well as some of his attackers fingernails. Separated now, he retreated to the far end of the cell.

As soon as they broke apart, Patrick's mind cleared and he could see the room again. He wanted to kill that...thing! Reaching for the cell door he pulled, but it was locked! Pulling again he would almost swear it had begun to move.

One more good pull..

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard watched in horror as Patrick furiosly tried to wrench the cell door off of its hinges. Not able to take anymore, she did the only thing she could.

Jumping off the stool, knocking it over in the process, Mrs. Wizzard grabbed Patrick, digging her nails into his shoulders as she turned him around. She shook him as she yelled.

"SNAP OUT OF IT, PATRICK!" She brought her hand around and slapped him hard across his face, leaving a burning red mark on his cheek. "DON'T GIVE THAT DAMN THING THE PLEASURE OF WATCHING YOU DESTROY YOURSELF!"

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Furious at being interrupted, at being touched - Patrick turned in the direction of the voice. His eyes sparked a dull red and he saw the figure before him. Her heart beat sounded in his ears her aura glowed brightly. So much life...

The part of him that was becoming vampire yearned for her blood , he could almost taste it...

Then, the other part of him, his soul, realized what was happening.

_No. NO! This isn't going to happen!_

"Get...away...Mrs Wizzard!"

Dropping to his knees, he wrapped his arms around his stomach, not out of pain, but just to stop from reaching out and grabbing her.

_Not going to happen!_

sooner or later you will taste blood

"NO!"

He could feel her. Standing there. He could feel the thing behind in the cage - and knew it was laughing at him.

He could only whisper...

"help me"

The hunger was almost too strong. He looked and saw the blood running from his fingertips where his nails had been ripped out. Slowly bringing his hand to his mouth, he licked.

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The priest was unusually pale today, and he was peering suspiciously around all the time. He and the Messenger Of Barrucaddu (to be read: golem) were returning to the Temple. Small groups of people were ammassing and coming and leaving from the new temple. The Priest had nailed a sign to the door. It read: 'Tell your friends or be smiten!'  
Normally he would have tried to convert these people, but due to recent events he just entered through the back door.  
'Shall I Go And Ring The Bells, Mr P?'  
The Priest looks at the golem as if seeing him for the first time in his life.  
'Yeah...you...go and do that... Yes.' he said, waving the golem away.  
Before leaving the backroom, the golem halted as if something was on his mind, turned around and said:  
'I Know.'  
The Priest was well aware of the newly arisen conflict in the golems head. After a few seconds which seemed to last a lifetime, the priest ordered:  
'You will lie.'  
'I Cannot, But I Must. I feel...Uneasy.'  
Conflict in the golems head...between the religious loyalty and zeal and the golems conscience. No. Not concience, words. And words change.  
The Priest wordlessly climbed on a small box, reached up and flicked the golems head open.  
And he wrote words. They were everything else but holy.

((and my next post after this one:))  
Tthe priest stumbled into the room where Jeannie, Jake and Igor are. ((whichever that is.)) He flicks some holy water half heartedly unto the unholy vessel of the werewolf, looks at Jeannie and mumbles:  
'You might have heard of a ... uh ... murder on the isle of gods. Well, I was holding a speech and handing out some pamphlets demonstratively shoves one into Jeannies hand and I heard a scream around the corner and there he was, dead. One of those bloo looks at Jake your respectable Uberwaldian kin. Stabbed.'  
Jeannie looked at him confused.  
'Just thought I might mention it, you being a watch officer and all. Helping with ivestigations and such.' He smiled forcedly.  
'Now Ive got to go to... the coffee shop on Elm Street. Very serious situation. Lot of holy water needed. And sponges. Uh.' The Priest hurries out of the room.

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the encounter with the priest on the way to the cells (('cos thats where we are now ))  
Jeannie looked at Jake "Did you understand any of that?"

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Priest hurried to the golem.  
'I forgot the knife. Get it.'  
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In the midst of the confusion left behind by the priest Jeannie heard somthing that made her blood run cold...the words "I'll KILL YOU!" echoed up from the cells, and it sounded like Patrick

She looked at Jake, he had heard it too. Without thinking about it she sprinted towards the cells

As she ran she heard Mrs Wizzards voice yelling

_oh sht no!He wouldn't bite her!...would he?_

The adrenanline which had not long since gone came flooding back as she somehow managed to pick up speed, fearing the worst. She flew into the cells, looked around at the bleeding vampire, at Patrick kneeling on the floor and at Mrs Wizzard who was thankfully unharmed.

Jeannie span round to the cell guards  
"Get out of here now! Get Detritus and Sally down here, and any other vampire proof officers!...GO!NOW!"

As the frightend guards ran Jeannie turned back to face Patrick. He was licking his wounded fingers, he was giving in to the blood lust.

The blood scent assaulted her senses

_Oh no, not again!_

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the guards ran out Mrs. Wizzard didn't dare to move, she was frozen to the spot anyway, by the cold chills that were running up and down her spine, caused by being so close to a vampire who just got his first taste of blood.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick sucked the blood running from his fingers like a man that hasn't had anything to drink in days.

He looked up as Jeannie ran into the cells and could smell the wolf. Under any other circumstances thy would be mortal enemies. But...

Again he whispered, "help me".

you pathetic worm! you dare to beg for help from a wolf?

_SHUT UP! I will never be one of you! NEVER! _

too late

The part of Patrick that could recover itself looked at Jeannie and Mrs Wizzard.

"He's a drone. When he touched me I saw...something. It wasn't him though. Not like when Sally touched my mind. He's being controlled by someone else."

The blood slowed and stopped. His thirst was satisfied. A sudden stab of pain shot through his body almost laying him out right there on the floor. He could hear the other officers approaching. They would...hurt him.

Struggling to his feet Patrick stood hunched over, his breath coming in short gasps almost hissing.

"I saw nothing but darkness...black shapes moving in the darkness. Power. Someone very strong. He's a vampire, but he might not ...know what he's doing. That's all I saw."

The tears came back. This time out of pain and the realization of what he had done.

Sally came running into the room just ahead of the other officers. As she entered the room he felt a sudden chill and her face filled his vision, eyes focused on his.

He felt exhausted. He couldn't stand. Sally reached out and touched his face. In his mind he heard her voice, "Sleep."

Just before he slumped to the ground, Patrick responded in kind...

_Sally, tell them I'm sorry._

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When Patrick slumped to the ground, unconcious, Mrs. Wizzard relaxed. She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to think.

"Alright, as much as I'd hate to say this about a friend, I think it's best if we put Patrick in a cell until we're sure he's himself, er, well, as much of himself he can be considering the circumstances." She turned to the vampire they had captured earlier. "As for you-" It gave her a glare and growled. "-Don't give me any of that, you b. We'll deal with you later."

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_With a shower of sparks, Barrucadu, the God of Pockets That Contain Far More Than They Should, meterializes._

"Right, what have I missed?"

_He pokes the vampire, and then sits on it, after it makes no move._

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A number of things happened very quickly, the first was Jeannie asking him who he was, a question that he was thankfully saved from answering by a priest that came running up to them and said that some werewolf ahd been killed. The last was least pleasant of all the sound of a scream and the unmistakable tang of blood in the air, but there was no magic smell to accompany it, which meant of course that Mrs Wizard was safe, unless the person attacking her was someone she knew.

As the two of the two of them entered the room he saw Patrick on the floor licking his own blood and the vampire in the cell, right in the corner at the back. Moving to the bars he tapped two of them.

"Are you ready to talk?"

The vampire seemed to shrink away. Jake turned around to Jeannie.

"Can I go into the cell with him?"

He said, his voice surprisingly calm despite what was happening around him. 

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie sighs, she knows Mrs Wizzard is right.

She turns to the officers who are stood by the entrance and randomly picks two of them

"Ok, you two. Put lance-constable Patrick in that empty cell will you? Sally, I want you near by for when he wakes up...he was fighting it then, but I think having you on hand is a sensible precaution."

Sally nodded "Yes sergeant, also before he vent to sleep he asked me to tell yo...he is sorry for zis"

Jeannie said nothing, there was nothing to say. He had fought it, he could have hurt Mrs Wizzard and he hadn't, he didn't have to apologise for that.

She turned back towards the cell with the vampire inside, and Jake waiting impatiently outside it

"Ok Jake, lets do this"

She nodded to the guards who had come back and were hestitantly waiting just inside the entrance. One of them came over and at Jeannies instruction unlocked the cell door. Jeannie entered first followed by Jake, she turned to the guard

"Thankyou constable, lock the door behind us and wait right outside here will you? If there is any trouble, don't unlock it until I give the word ok? I do not want that thing at large again"

The constable nodded

Jeannie turned back to Jake and the vampire, it was huddled in the corner and was evidently unhappy about Jake being near it

"Right then, where shall we start? How about who you are working for?"

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of the cell door closing echoed in his head and suddenly he wasn't in a cell he was in a cage, with all the exits shut off. A clammy fear began to seep into him his only comfort was that Jeannie was here as well. He knew that vampire had sensed his fear, a cocky grin had spread across its face and it straightened a little looking at him.

"Ahh, two dogz in a cage and vun ov dem does not like it."

The accent had appeared from nowhere, this was an Ankh-Morpork vampire an Uberwald would never try and thicken theirs.

"I am vundering if you are veerly are who you claim to be. Zurely a cage would not vrighten the great-"

Jake knew where this was going and decided to interrupt the blood sucker, part of his fear now being pumped into the fires of his anger at the vampire's taunts.

"I am quite willing to prove it."

He said dangerously quietly. He turned to the others in the room.

"Does anyone have a splinted piece of wood and perhaps some holy water?"

He knew it was wrong but the quavering of the vampire's smile brought him no end of satisfaction.

"You voodn't dare!"

The age old reaction, seen in all the clickies and Jake began to get the feeling he was in one of them. One of those mystery ones he hated, where everyone was so innocent and eventually one of the famous lcickie actors was the one who had done it. First though they had endless good watchman, bad watchman scenes, this was beginning to feel like one of those scenes.

"I think I have proved that I am."

Jake pointed to the vampires bandaged arm and wondered who had been brave enough to do it. It was a stupid thought though, igors would stitch anyone back together. The vampire grew less certain and Jake thought he saw a quickly suppressed quiver at the thought that perhaps, Jake might indeed be who he claimed to be.

"I….They….they called themselves the company."

Ahh, the accent was gone.

Jake looked at the others in the room to see if the name meant anything to any of them. 

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bloody fine knife it was too. Engraved with the name of Barrucaddu by the finest artificers too... _bloody_ fine knife, yes. thougt the priest. He stopped in mid-thoughtfull-panicky-stroll around the room and raised his head, widening his nostrils.  
Dammit! He's here! What will he say of me! Ooooh st! But hes a long way off. Watch house. Pseudopolis. Cells.  
Wow ... I'm _good_ .  
He fumbled through the back room of the temple for some more holy water, pamphlets and aponge, and hesitantly strode towards the watchhouse.

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just hope the golem...messenger gets his hands on the knife before anyone else. Jeannie and the watch seemed pretty preoccupied. I talked to her. Theres nothing to worry about. Yeah.  
I'll just go and show the Great God Barrucadu the temple. Then the golem will show up and everybody'll be happy with their ignorance. Yeah.  
I'm the best.  
thought the Priest.

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie was leaning against the side of the cell watching the conversation with interest, the way the vampire had stupidly tried to taunt Jake, and the way Jake had interupted before the vampire had revealed the name that he was so afraid of...that had peaked her curiosity, who was Jake then?

When Jake mentioned the stake and holy water she tensed, he had promised her he wouldn't try anything...but she relaxed when he pointed to the vampires arm. Well, scaring the bloodsucker was ok, that was the point of Jake asking the questions

The Company? Jeannie certainly didn't recognise the name, she gave Jake a shrug as she shook her head.

"Who is in this Company?" she asked the vampire

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Mrs. Wizzard waited with the guards outside of the cell, something sparked her memory. Flashbacks of the day her brothers kidnapped her came flooding back. This seemed a lot like that day..sort of.

When Jake asked if anyone had any holy water, Mrs. Wizzard almost hit the floor before remembering that the priest was at his temple. Pity, that.

Looking across the room, she saw Sally sitting solemly by the cell (say that ten times fast ) where they had put Patrick. Figuring the other vampire didn't concern her right now, Mrs. Wizzard pulled a chair over to Patrick's cell, and waited with Sally.

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake spared a look for Patrick, the first time he'd found out about the guy was when Patrick was looking through his window and that seldom endeared people to him and now he was a vampire. He watched as Mrs Wizard dragged her chair towards the cell Patrick occupied, there was not a great deal anyone could do for the guy now. Jeannie's question brought him back and he focused again on the vampire who was now quivering gently and put Jake in mind of a large Jelly. Doubtless the blood sucker was seeing options and not liking them a great deal.

"They'll….they'll kill me."

He said in an evident attempt to garner some sort of sympathy.

"Wow, so you're telling someone who you shot with a silver bolt, someone you then smacked with a silver bolt." He pointed to Jeannie "and someone you bit that if you tell us what we want to know, you will die."

He went quiet to allow the stupidity of the idea to sink in. A number of cruel and possibly twisted things that Jake could do in vengeance for his and his friends injuries paraded themselves through his mind for his inspection, he dismissed them all, for now.

"I never saw them all together, I just used to talk to a dwarf, one from Uberwald. He gave me my instructions from the company and they gave me some pictures of you lot said you were asking to many questions." 

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie had been looking out towards where Sally and Mrs Wizzard were sitting outside the cell that contained Patricks sleeping form, as she heard the vampires last sentence her head snapped round to face it

"A dwarf from Uberwald? What was his name?"

She thought she probably already knew the answer to that one, she wanted to be proved wrong but it was just too much of a coincidence that all the trouble had started after she had run in to him in Sto Lat.

The vampire hesitated before speaking

"I didn't know his full name, he was only known to me as Chrys"

Jeannie nodded solemnly, she had known Chrys since she was a pup but if he was involved with this company then he was as guilty as the rest of them, she would take him down if she had to.

"How do you get in touch with him?"

"You're signing my death warrant, you know that don't you?"

"We've already had that conversation, now tell me how you get in touch with him!"

The vampire went very quiet, Jeannie realised she was trembling, betrayal was always a bitter pill to swallow and was even harder to take when it came from a life long friend

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick lay still on the floor of the cell, slowly coming around. His body felt like it had lead weights on top of it and he was too weak to move.

As he became more alert, he was aware of many people around him - but who was singing? He couldn't actually hear the voice, but it was in his head all the same. Was that Sally?  
Yes, it was.

The voice was sweet, soothing and sounded more beautiful than anything he had heard in his life. He couldn't understand the words though...

She stopped only long enough to say..

_Don't move. Don't get up...you have to rest. I vill help you._

Answering her in kind, _Sally. I'm sorry for all this mess. I couldn't hold it back any longer it was too strong..._

The singing started again and a feeling of calm and peace came over him. Patrick could almost make out the voices of Jeannie and Jake talking to the vampire in the other cell, but the song took him back.

She's controlling me now. This must be a way she is able to subdue...prey. She can use her voice as a tool to get inside some poor suckers head and lull them to sleep before...no. She said she belongs to the Black Ribboners. She wouldn't do that anymore.

The song filled him like a drug and he saw in his mind visions of his childhood mixed with scenes from a land he had never seen before. Uberwald? Sally was purposely bringing up sights from a happier time for both of them.

_Patrick. You must be careful here. There is more of your soul left inside you than would normally be the case, so you are still a strong human. But, the vampire vill continue to grow, slowly taking over. Right now it is like a child; it wants to be seen, noticed and it doesn't want anything else telling it what to do. Your impulse control iz most vulnerable. Sudden flashes of emotion vill allow the vampire to come forth and each time, it vill take more and more of your ...soul, to regain your composure. Eventually, if you are not careful, you vill lose your soul completely. I vill help you. You and I are 'linked' now. I vill be able to tell when you are in danger of losing control and therefor vill be able to intervene. For some time at least._

He could feel the weight slowly lift off his body, but was still too weak to move or sit up. Again, the singing started. Risking a look, Patrick opened an eye slowly until he could just make out the figure of Mrs Wizzard and Sally sitting outside the cell. A slight turn of his head showed Jake and Jeannie in the next cell with the creature.

He closed his eye again and tried to listen to what was being said.

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The vampire had picked up on Jeannies reaction and was smirking at her. She was in no mood for games, especially now.

"Listen to me you parasite, answer my question or I may be suddenly called away on urgent business, which would leave you and my friend here alone...I don't think you would like that now would you?"

The smirk faded as the vampire glanced at Jake

"I don't know how to get in touch with him, he always came to me"

She walked slowly towards it

"where?"

"I can't..."

the creature visibly sagged, Jake had told Jeannie he wouldn't do anything to the vampire but the vampire didn't know that. As far as it knew, things could go very nasty if it didn't co-operate

"...he would turn up at my dwellings. Or leave a note there with instructions for other meeting places. Thats all I know about him,really it is!"

Jeannie stood right in front of it now

"I suggest you tell me exactly where your dwellings are"

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Priest had barely reached the gate, when he stopped.

What if they already know? Jeannie and Patrick  
arent the only Watch officers... Oooh, how the heck am I going to get away with this!

After about 5 minutes the Priest broke into a run towards the harbor, taking a shortcut through the Shades. When he reached the harbor he entered a pub. Whitout thinking he pulled out a bag of coins and smacked it on the table, money trickling out. All eyes turned to him.  
'Which one of you is willing to take me to ...' his voice faded away and he froze in mid-gesture. As if by sudden agreement, all the occupants of the tavern rushed towards the bag, but the priest was already out of the pub and heading towards Pseudopolis Yard once again.

Oh, why did I embark on this cliche-ridden quest in the first place? Damnit damnit damnit.

He rushed and slammed into the closed door towards the cells.

Amazing, this. I found my way down here even though its the first time. Talk about cliche-ridden.

He took a swig from his "holy water" and barged into the room. Whitout thinking ((repetitive, innit?)) he exclamed:  
'Thats it, gang! We're going to Klatch!'

Oh, why the hell did I say that?

All the stress from the past hours suddendly came down upon him like a ton of bricks and he hit the floor with a dull thump.

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took a little more cajoling but they found out the blood sucker had two addresses one, he said, was where he got messages sent, a small place in the 'better' part of shades.

_Better part of the shades? Isn't that like saying the shallower end of a sewer?_

The other address was in quite a nice part of town apparently the leech came fro ma minor noble house, or at least was a very distant relation of one and the way these people kept their family trees it was no wonder they knew who he was. Before they'd left the cells though an authoritative voice made the room go, not just quiet but…expectant.

"What's happening down here?"

Jake looked round, he couldn't ever remember seeing Vimes before and looked blankly at the man before turning to Jeannie.

"It's a bit crowded down here isn't it? Sergeant who the hell are all these people in my cells? And…good gods is he alright."

He pointed to the prone figure of Patrick.

"Okay, I'm standing here very calmly waiting for an explanation, but I must warn you I can only wait so long."

Before anyone could utter a word there was the sound of running footsteps and the smell of lemons assaulted Jake's nostrils shortly before the priest that had travelled with them to Sto Lat appeared and then promptly crumpled to the floor.

"Good Gods"

Vimes repeated, Jake wasn't sure how much more of this emotional rollercoaster he could take and just stared speechless as all these things unfolded at once. 

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard stood up and walked over to the priest. She nudged him with her foot, his prone body twitched. Well, at least he was alive. But, he looked different.

"Anyone else notice this isn't his happy-drunk collapse? He looks more stressed than insane."

Vimes shot her a You-Know-This-Guy? look. What he said was completely unexpected.

"You know this guy?"

"Er, yes, sir. Don't worry, he's mostly harmless."

"Well, then wake him up, we can't have him lying on the floor like that"

Nudging him was obviously not working so Mrs. Wizzard did the only other thing she could think of. She cleared her throat and leaned down close to the priest's ear.

"BARRUCADU IS A MYTH!"

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie beckoned to the guard outside the cell, who promptly unlocked the door. Jeannie and Jake left the cell. She gave Jake a look that said 'let me do the talking' although from the look of him he wouldn't want to talk to Vimes anyway

Watching as Mrs Wizzard yelled into the priests ear Jeannie walked over to Vimes

"Sir, I can explain all this. We've a rather, hah, interesting afternoon."

"I can see that sergeant! A lance-constable unconscious in the cells, a civilian accompanying a sergeant into a cell with a dangerous suspect who if , correct me if I'm wrong seems to be yet another vampire! This man, collapsing on the floor...is that a lemon in his pocket? And apparently Igor has been very busy today. I'm sure you can explain it all though?"

The look Vimes gave her said that she had better damn well be able to explain it or there was going to be trouble, alot of trouble

Jeannie decided to navigate the easier areas first and explained to Vimes about Patricks first blood lust but that it was under control now and Sally was keeping an eye on him. Obviously this didn't please Vimes, everyone knew about his feelings towards vampires, but seeing as Patrick hadn't actually hurt anyone (Jeannie didn't mention the fight with the other vampire, sometimes a sergeant needed to tell her superior officers only what they needed to know) there wasn't much Vimes could say.

She then went on to explain about the vampire trying to kill Jake while he was helping the watch with the pursuit and why Jake was helping her question it

"...it's probably worth mentioning that the suspect is the vampire who bit the lance-constable and also seriously assaulted me with silver during the attempted arrest sir"

She said meaningfully at the end, everyone knew that Vimes took a very serious view of assault on a copper. His face showed her that indeed he was not pleased to hear that the vampire in the cells had seriously assaulted his officers

"And did having this man in the cell with you prove to be helpful to your case?" he asked

"yes sir, we have found out a great deal and so far the suspect will be charged with two counts of assaulting a Watch Officer, at least one charge of Attempted Murder and I'm sure there will be more charges once I've investigated the information we have gathered sir."

Vimes nodded gravely "Very well, unorthodox perhaps but you have got results, as Captain Tantony assured me you often do...but, and I want this to be very clear sergeant! In future you come to me before embarking on anything like this in my Watch House! Understood?"

"Yes sir, understood"

Vimes indicated the priest, "And why is this person here?"

Jeannie gave Vimes a look of honest puzzlement, "I really don't know, he just turned up. he has a tendency to do that. He's harmless enough, but a bit strange...he's a priest sir" she added as way of explanation. It seemed to be one that Vimes was happy with.

As Vimes left the cells, Jeannie rubbed her face with her hands. Gods she was tired

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick had been listening to the commotion outside the cell as first the priest, then Vimes entered. Sally's voice had been clear; don't move until the Commander has left - you don't want to have to explain this to him.

Just as Vimes walked out, Patrick felt a surge of energy, probably supplied by Sally and he was able to stand up and go to the cell door.

"Glad to see you again Mrs Wizzard. I trust everything is...alright?" He was so very glad to see her alive and well, to know that he hadn't hurt her.

_Probably wouldn't have had the chance._

A look passed between him and Sally; one of grattitude and understanding. He nodded to her and then looked toward where Jake and Jeannie were standing.

"Uh, any chance I could be let out of here? I promise not to...damage any more suspects."

That last sentence was a bit of dry humor, trying to feel out where he stood with the group.

"Maybe a good dinner? To sort out our next move?"

_'Our' next move? Wait to see what they say first before assuming things._

Risking a look at the next cell, Patrick could see the vampire sitting there with a look of fear on his face. It occured to Patrick that the creature was fully aware of being in a room with two werewolves, two vampires - one of which had attacked him - a wizard and now a priest. In fact, the only hope of being saved from this crowd had just walked back out of the room without so much as a glance in his direction.

Looking back to Jeannie, Patrick asked, "Did I hear right? He gave us his contact information?"

Only slightly aware of the sensation of fingernails regenerating on his hand, he stood there waiting for the next shoe to drop.

­---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie nodded in answer to Patricks question  
"Yes, you heard right. We've got his information about his contact"

She didn't mention who the contact was, she was still feeling a bit raw about it.

She looked questioningly at Sally "Is he...ok now?"  
Sally told her that he was fine for now so Jeannie motioned to the guard with the keys and stood back to allow Patricks release from the cell.

"I think a good meal will do us all some good, and we can decide on our next move. Not in the watch house though, I think we should stay out of Vimes way for a while"

_and I want to prepare myself for meeting that two faced backstabbing little bugger!_ was what she didn't say out loud

The group began to move out of the room, Jeannie walking behind them trying to get her head round what she had just found out

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As Vimes' gaze swept past he was very grateful that he had someone who the commander evidently trusted on his side as he was sure that his own word would mean little in a place like this. He was pretty sure what they needed to do next. As Patrick spoke Jake frowned and said nothing, instead letting Jeannie talk. As their small troop walked out Jake couldn't help but _feel_ Patrick and Sally, it was not a comfortable sensation and one he did not relish. Deciding that actually sitting for a meal with them would test him beyond endurance, especially after ramming a stake into the other one already, he decided to excuse himself.

"You know, I need a shower, a change of clothes and I think I'll find my own food. I'll meet up with you all later on."

Not to mention the fact it might give him a chance to check out the assassin's guild. He looked back at Sally and Patrick before nodding to the rest and walking off. 

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Once Patrick was released from his cell Mrs. Wizzard walked up to him and patted him on the back.

"Glad to see you're yourself again," she said with a smile. "C'mon we'd better catch up with Jeannie." As they walked out of the room Mrs. Wizzard suddenly remembered something and hurried back.

"Can't forget about him. Poor Priest. He must be ill if _that_ didn't wake him up." She grasped his feet and dragged him out of the room behind her.

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Jeannie nodded back to Jake as he left, and looked to see if her companions were following her.She saw Mrs Wizzard dragging the priest and berated herself for not noticing him still unconscious on the floor. She walked over, gave Mrs Wizzard a smile and put the priest over her shoulder.

There was a inn not far from the watch house, not the height of sophistication but the food in there was rumoured to be fairly palatable. It would do, right now she didn't care she just need food to help her keep going. She was really feeling the tiredness now. It was hardly surprising, her body had had alot of healing to do since the fight with Jakes half-brother and then there had been the arrest of the vampire to top it all off.

She led the way to the inn, and placed the priest on a seat in the corner before ordering some food and a beer. She sat down at the table with the still unconscious priest and waited for her companions.

She knew what she had to do next, she had the addresses...but she had to prepare herself for it, she was in no fit state either emotionally or physically right now. Chrys had been her friend for many years, his strange behaviour in Sto Lat had been bad enough but to know that he gave the order about them to the vampire...that stung

She needed to let the shock sink in before confronting the dwarf who had caused all this, the dwarf who had befriended a young wounded werewolf all those years ago...the sound of her friends arriving snapped her out of her memories

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Jake knew there were no B-A-T-H-S in the Uberwald mansion, but a shower was just as nice and the water running over his wound, the painful, was very satisfying. He still couldn't believe that he was in the house and even had one of the rooms. Taking one of the towels he wrapped it around himself and made his way to his room. He could use his arm again and the injury had healed nicely, but it still felt tender. Tugging on some new clothes he stood and looked at himself in the mirror with the frame carved in wolf claws and topped by a wolf head with black eyes. The house seemed deserted but he could sense others moving about, not wanting to mix at the moment he had food brought to his room and decided that he could eat and walk. Wrapping a great deal of it up he put it into a pouch and left the place. He was off to looking around the assassins guild. 

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Patrick had seen the look from Jake as he had walked away from the group. He had also seen some of the looks from the other watch officers as the foursome had left the Watch House.

Entering the inn as the sunlight faded outside, Patrick thought that this had to be the most - interesting - day of his life...so far.

At some point he was going to have to have a heart to heart with Jeannie, Jake and Mrs Wizzard about, well, things. He figured the priest would be more than amiable - he seemed a good natured sort. Not to say that the others weren't friendly, but a group of werewolves, wizards and vampires would have a dynamic not found anywhere else. Probably.

As he and Mrs Wizzard sat at the table and ordered their food he noticed the look on Jeannies face and realized how much she had been through in the last 24 hours or so.

_I've got to do my part in this. I can't be causing her anymore problems. _

"Well, not wanting to put a damper on things, what do we do now? I take it this Chrys is the one we're focused on now?"

As the food arrived, he chuckled at the feeding frenzy that ensued. All three of them ripped into the meal with great pleasure. The priest, slumped, but still sitting in the seat, slept.

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Mrs. Wizzard was only half listening to what Patrick was saying. She poked the priest.

"I hope he's not dead. He looks rather stressed. I wonder what he's been up to lately."

Dismissing the thought, others began to clutter her mind.

_I hope Jeannie's okay,_ she thought. _Being betrayed by a friend must be torture. I mean, I was betrayed by my own brothers, but they've been a bunch of b since I was born so I guess that really doesn't count for much. I never really loved them. They never gave me a reason to. Hmm, come to think of it, we alll seem to have a troubled past, though I guess Patrick's is a bit more recent._

She continued in deep thought as she quietly ate her food.

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With her stomach feeling full, it was easier to think. Having finished her meal Jeannie sat back and took a good long swig on her beer.

She set the tankard back onto the table, trying to conceal the bitter look on her face as she spoke about the dwarf

"Yes, Chrys is the lead we need to follow now. He is...he _was_ an old friend of mine. I had run in to him in Sto Lat a few days ago, he was acting oddly. Shortly afterwards me and Jake were running for our lives from a group of angry dwarves, and we know that Chrys helped the brothers while they were hiding. Turns out now that it was him who gave the vampire his orders to follow us too."

She went silent and gulped down the rest of her beer, she motioned to the barman for another one and carried on talking

"We have the addresses that are used for Chrys to contact the vampire,what we have to do is pretty obvious. Tomorrow we'll follow it up, set a trap. Tonight I need to rest"

_And it's full moon again _she added to herself

Her drink was brought to the table, she took gulp of it.

"And does anyone know why the priest was mumbling something about a werewolf being stabbed outside his temple?"

there were blank looks all round, Jeannie sighed

"Well, he's still unconscious at the moment. I'll find out more when he wakes up"

She sat back holding her drink, taking another deep gulp of it. Her shift was technically over for the day, and what a day it had been

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Jake strolled up to the door, if he was nervous, he didn't show it and he knocked. A section of the door slid to one side and narrowed eyes peered at him. He could have almost grinned, he expected the eyes to say something like "what's the password?" was he in Ankh-Morpork? Or just stuck in a dreadfully bad cliché.

"What do you want?"

The eyes asked in what Jake was all to aware was a condescending tone.

"I'm here about the missing cargo you had stored at warehouse twenty-three."

The eyes looked at him for another moment before the section slid shut and he heard voices, obviously meant to be whispers, but he heard every word.

"How does he know?" one of the voices said.

"I don't know, I'm just the doorman." The doorman responded in a sarcastic voice.

"Well we better tell someone about it."

The door opened and a figure dressed in typical assassins guild garb ushered him in.

"If you'd wait a moment we'll…just fetch someone to talk to you."

Jake check the time, there was still daylight left, it was a full moon tonight and he doubted it would make a good impression to shift into the form of a large wolf in the midst of the guild, not to mention insane and suicidal, he hoped whoever it was didn't take too long. 

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Patrick perked up a bit with the mention of a trap.

"Are we going to use our little buddy back in the cell?"

He knew it was probably a bad idea but mentioned that it may be a possibility that Chrys doesn't know the vampire has been arrested. If they could somehow turn him to their side for even just a few minutes and then put him up at one of the locations, someone might turn up thinking it was just business as usual.

"If we can put together a big enough team we can snag our target with minimum fuss."

It was an old trick, he knew, but he felt he had to offer up something to the cause. He was warming up to the idea of being a watch officer.

Looking at Mrs Wizzard, he asked, "What do we do with the priest?"

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'NOT a myth!' snapped the priest suddendly, standing up. As he did so, he noticed everyone staring at him, including Jeannie and Patrick.  
'Mwaa.' he started, tangled in the legs of the chair and fell on his back.  
He flailed around with his limbs, making:  
'Gnnn, gnnn.' noises and resembling a helpless turtle.  
This went on for some while until the following thought appeared: "Calm down, youve got an alibi." He settled down. Unfortunatley another thought appeared: "Whats an alibi?" and he started struggling again.

Act normal, act normal.

He stood up brusquely ,stiffly sat down on his chair and produced some pamphlets, handing them stiffly towards the others.

Good job, that'll definitley convince them that youre normal.  
But theyre staring at me.  
I was being sarcastic.  
Oh my god, they know!

'Argh!' the priest trembled a bit, sat down again and started wobbling gently on his chair.

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"I think thats a good idea Patrick...there have been too many injuries today we'll use strength of numbers tomorow, we'll bait the trap and spring it. we'll bring Chrys in and he can answer to me...I mean the law, for his part in this company"

As she spoke the priest sprung into life, the group were left staring open mouthed at him as he wobbled on his chair

Jeannie shook herself "um, you mentioned something about a stabbing?" she asked whilst exchanging confused glances with the rest of the group

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The priest looked relieved, but continued to wobble.  
'I was holding a speech, yes, and then suddendly I heard a blood-curdling scream. Some dwarf shouted: "To the rat-cave!" and everyone, _including me_ followed him, only to be startled by a dead Uberwaldian. I did not know anything of him and have always had a _good impression_ of him even though i _never spoke to him_ . Yes. And I thought it was my ... civic duty to report this to my ... uh ... _loyal_ and _friendly_ friends who happen to be watch officers. Yes.'  
He looked expectantly at his friends, twiddling with his thumbs.

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Jeannie listened to the priests explanation with a true watchman's ear... _ah, he's lying_

"ok, consider it reported, who was the victim? you mentioned to Jake it was one of his family, is that right?"s


	6. Chapter 6

That is what someone from the crowd said, yes.  
Wobble.

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"ok then, do you want me to come and look at the crime scene?"

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_Dammit!_  
'Uh...it's not up to me to decide. Its not as if I have any connection whatsoever to the victim. Or the murderer.' he added in a lower tone of voice. 'Theres probably someone from the watch there already. You are serious types, after all.'  
_I shouldve left dammit!_

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Jeannie gave the priest a look of concern

"ok then, if you think it's being dealt with."

she made a mental note to visit the temple tomorrow, but for now she could feel the evening drawing in, and with it the irresistable pull of the full moon. She would have to leave soon

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Patrick was satisfied with the meal, the drink, the nod from Jeannie concerning his idea for tomorrow and looked forward to getting some rest in his bed.

he knew Jeannie was going to have to get out of there soon because it was looking though it would be a nice clear night with a wonderfully full moon.

He looked at the priest who was entirely too nervous for his own good and at Mrs Wizzard.

"I think I'll try to get back to my place without any more...little moments. Mrs Wizzard, may I walk you out?"

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Jeannie was grateful for the opening to leave provided by Patrick.The evening was drawing in and it would give her a chance to get well away from here before she changed.

She bid goodnight to her companions, and left the inn. She walked towards her lodgings, she might aswell leave her clothes there, being a werewolf tended to provide a regular clothing bill especially when the moon was full.

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Mrs. Wizzard nodded and thanked Patrick for his offer. As they got up to leave she got a last glimpse at Jeannie.

_I wonder if it's hard being a werewolf,_ she thought o herself as she walked out.

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Patrick walked out of the inn and turned to look at Mrs Wizzard.Following closely behind was the priest.

"This has been one heck of a day. I'm glad we all got through it in one piece."

Walking along the darkening streets he suddenly became very self conscious.

"I'm not sure what to say about earlier, but listen, I think it's all under control - at least for awhile. Sally is going to keep an eye on me."

He didn't know how to explain it. Not that she wouldn't understand, but he lacked the words to describe properly what Sally had done for him while he was asleep in the cell. It would come to him.

"I'm just down this street. Do you mind if I leave you in the capable hands of our friend here?"

Looking back to the priest he added...

"You'll be okay tonight I hope?"

Turning to walk away, Patrick stopped suddenly and turned...

"Oh, Mrs Wizzard! I think we may need some fireworks tomorrow. Nothing too over the top. Maybe some smoke, something to go BANG also. I know it's silly stuff, but I'd appreciate it."

Raising his hand to wave he turned and continued down the street. Once inside the boarding house he found his mattress and collapsed onto it.

_I hope I get to keep my bed. I don't want to have to start sleeping in a damn box!_

Raising enough energy to kick off his boots, he got comfortable and was soon drifting off. Somewhere in the back of his mind a song began.

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Mrs. Wizzard waved goodbye to Patrick and continued along with the priest.

_Fireworks? What does he need fireworks for? Oh, well, I'll see what I can conjour up later..._

She turned to the priest, who still looked a little unbalanced.

"I've still got a room back at the Watch House, but I think I should walk you back to your temple, first."

About half an hour later, the priest was safely back in his temple and Mrs. Wizzard was lying awake on her bed in the Watch House. Sleeping in the same building as her brothers were in was unnerving her a little. She tried to reassure herself by remembering that they were locked up in the cells as she tried to get some sleep.

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On her way home Jeannie decided to take a walk past the address in the shades that the vampire had given them. Knowing the layout of the place would be important in planning their trap tomorrow. She walked slowly past, apparently taking no more interest in that particular building than in any of the others. Once she was satisfied she turned down a alley to make her way home.  
On the way there was a brief yet amusing incident when a couple of unlicensed thieves thought that she would make a good target, she stepped out of the alley leaving one man curled up whimpering against the wall and the other one lying on the floor making a bubbling noise and considering a new profession, when lone women could be that dangerous it was time to reconsider career choices. She smirked as she walked away, they had even tried the 'girl with spirit' line, talk about a cliche!

Looking up as she felt the pull of the moon growing she walked briskly back home

Arriving at her lodgings Jeannie enterd her room, she undressed and lay down on her bed to think about the past 24 hours...as she was woken some time later by her morphic field changing into the wolf she realised she must have dozed for a while

She jumped off her bed and pushed the doors open with her nose. Standing in the sreet the city smells were a myriad of colours

She made her way out into the city

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_With an odd popping noise, Barrucadu removed himself from the priests pockets._

"Blessed be this holy pocket." he muttered.

_He inspected the temple, not as grand as he would have liked, and the holy water seems to have been drunk from. He would have to make a commandment about that.  
He inspects the priests memories._

"A problem involving dwarves and vampires? I think i'll help."

_He changes into a rat, the one surefire way of finding a dwarf, and heads out into the city._

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Before going to sleep, the Priest had locked and barred the door to his dormitory. And the window too, after a second thought.

He woke up as an aftereffect of Barrucaddus presence, but when he ran into the altar-room ((however you call that in english )) the divine being was gone.

He made himself some breakfast and thought about eating outside the temple, so as to keep an eye on the watch house. He wasnt going to spend his day alone. Gripped by paranoia, he stayed in the temple and ate while sitting on a bench, leaning forward a bit so that he could observe the entrance of the watch-house.

_If no-one appears until I finish breakfast, I'll bloody well go and find them. I'm not going to spend my day alone and all vulnerable._

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The room was comfortable with a fire in the grate, despite the heat of summer. The black coverings seemed to absorb the light and the drawn black curtains let in no light from outside, Jake didn't need to look outside though, if it was night he'd not be standing here, well not in this shape anyway.

Finally the door opened to admit a tall thin and sallow gentleman who appeared to be wearing a one piece black cat suit. _Woah, having a pee must be a bit of a problem unless you've got someone to zip you up and what good assassin would present his back to someone else_

"I must apologise for the wait, visitors generally make an appointment."

The rebuke was subtly masked but plain enough for anyone of even moderate intelligence to detect it.

"I'm sorry, I just thought that the guild would want the matter cleared up as soon as possible."

_Great start Jake get them riled up, then they'll be all the more willing to help you._

The man looked at him for a moment before nodding

"Of course that is the case, but we were not aware that we had asked anyone to look into the matter Mr…"

Jake ignored the prompt

"Perhaps not but I am responsible for the warehouse and someone taking something from it is very serious and reflects badly on my reputation. So, I am doing my best to track down your delivery. Would you mind telling me exactly what it was?"

"I'm sorry" said the man "but do you have any identification? I mean someone who wanders in off the street and says he's from the warehouse where our merchandise was taken from...brave as you are, you might be one of the people who stole it."

He really hadn't thought this through and could suddenly feel the situation getting away from him, never a good thing to calm the nerves and the pull of the moon seemed to be getting stronger, it was obviously getting darker outside. Still he couldn't lose his grip yet, if he seemed agitated it was bound to show through and that would be a very bad thing. He decided that being put onto the defensive would be a good way of losing this fight.

"I'm afraid I do not have any identification, but I understand your concern I am sorry for the intrusion I will make a report to the watch and allow them to deal with the situation."

The gentleman's calm façade began to slip _careful Jake, it's nearly night_

"This matter is guild business and does not concern the watch."

Jake shook his head sadly

"There has been a theft in my warehouse, that is watch business."

The man seemed to struggle for a moment, the fire giving his face a sickly orange.

"Very well, do as you wish, I am not at liberty to discuss the contents of those boxes."

There it was, he'd played his best card and they'd called him on it, frustration welled inside of him and he felt the wolf pounding to be let out, it really couldn't be long before the moon's pull was too strong.

"Well, thank you for your time, I'm sorry to have troubled you unnecessarily."

Once again the assassin was smooth grace and charm, as though the conversation had never taken place. He was led to the door and bid a farewell. He had been right only the faintest of glows remained in the sky, he was never going to make it back to the mansion. His nails began to lengthen and he felt hair prickling down his back and legs, it would be a very bad idea to change here. Moving as fast as he dared he searched for a convenient alley, Of course he couldn't see any. The city was full of the damn things and when you REALLY needed one it was like they vanished. All of a sudden he was flung forwards as his legs began to stretch and change. With little choice left to him he crawled behind a pile of barrels and allowed his body to re-arrange itself.

Jake stood and shook himself, spraying the remaining tatters of his clothes in a small circle. The collage of smells assaulted him seeming bright and vivid as ever, with the greenish/grey of the Ankh running through everything.

Whatever it was it came very fast, all the air rushed from Jake's lungs and he staggered sideways, knocking over a number of the barrels. A weight suddenly pressed down on him and he realised that someone was sitting on him attempting to put a muzzle over his...well his muzzle. Out of pure instinct he lunged forwards and bit down on his assailants shoulder. There was a satisfying crunch of bone and blood gushed from the wound which seemed to fuel his bloodlust. He detached himself and sent up a blood curdling howl. The figure took off, it was pathetic, nothing could outrun him, beside the smell of blood was clear and made an easy trail to follow. His prey was clever, knowing the he could not outrun the wolf he zigzagged turning many corners always just out of sight.

Turning round a bend there was a whoosh and something smacked into the side of his head, stars appeared in front of his eyes and he crumpled to the floor. He felt himself being hauled into something and then, everything went black. 

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Feeling slightly more refreshed after her short nap Jeannie walked through the streets of Ankh Morpork.

She wasn't particularly heading anywhere although she was playing with the idea of heading over to the temple of Barracudu and finding out more about what the priest was so stressed about.

She paused to watch a rat walking along the street in a very purposeful, non-rat like way, the wolf was considering wether it would make a good snack or not when out of the various sounds of the city came one that cut straight through them all and got her full attention, a howl.

_Jake?_

Of course he'd be out tonight, but there was an edge to the howl that caused her to break into a run and head right towards it.

She found Jakes scent outside the Assassin Guild... _The Assassins? what was was he doing here?_

She followed it a little way and came across the remains of his clothes, mixed up with another scent which was over powerd by the smell of blood

The scent moved away followed by Jakes, she followed cautiously, her concern overpowering the wolfs lust for blood...for now

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Consciousness returned slowly, creeping into Jake as though reluctant to do so. The moment it did his body began waving bills at him for repairs and he wished he'd not woken. Colours came oozing slowly into his nose and lighting his surroundings. He was in a small room, dimly lit and obviously suspended above the river as he could smell it below, almost obliterating all other scents. Jake had a fear that he might be attacked by the assassins he knew now that it wasn't them who had brought him here, if it had he would not have woken up. His ears still ringing he looked around and spotted the figure in the shadowed figure in the corner, of course whether he was concealed or not made little difference to the wolf the smell was the same.

He let out a low growl the figure twitched slightly Jake leapt forwards, his head was yanked down and he hit the ground wit ha crash. They had muzzled him and the muzzle had been chain to the wall behind him and attached to the same parts of the wall were links that led to all four feet. He yanked the chains forward there was a creak, but he couldn't use all his strength as his head was constantly drawn down.

"I would stop that if I were you."

Said the figure, the voice seemed vaguely familiar but in his dazed state he couldn't quite remember where he had heard it. There was a click and he saw the bolt and the bow levelled at him.

"You see, you've annoyed a lot of people, powerful people and the only reason you're not dead yet is because the company doesn't want a fight on too many fronts, the death of one of you could be seen as an accident, but now if you turned up dead as well, people might start asking questions and it would appear that they are too close to whatever it is they want to do to lose now."

At last his mind recognised the figure, the woman from Sto Lat, the one that had been searching for werewolves. He growled again, he couldn't ask any questions in this form, so he glowered at her and wondered if he should howl.

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Jeannie tracked the scents which seemed to follow an erratic trail, as she rounded a corner suddenly Jakes scent stopped, how could it just stop? that made no sense.

She sniffed around some more until she found somthing else, The blood tinged scent moving away in this direction, and very very faint was Jakes scent.  
Why would his scent become so faint so suddenly? As she sniffed around some more she picked up another scent, it was one she'd smelt before tinged with the smell of cigars. The bounty hunter? Why had she gone after Jake? Had she killed him? There was no fresh scent of blood here, but it smelt like he had been moving quickly then stopped suddenly before the scent became very faint. Of course! If he had been ambushed then they could have put him on a cart or inside something, this was not good...her concern was growing. She headed in the direction of the scents.

She kept on following the trail, until suddenly her senses were overpowerd by a overwhelming stink of aniseed as she arrived at a crossroad.

_Damn it damn it damn it!! a scent bomb!_

There were trails of aniseed leaving the area all over where people had walked through it, there was no way she could pick up the trail again now.

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Waking with a start the chains rattling, he realised he must have fallen asleep. His wound bruises still hurt from the rough treatment but other than that his condition wasn't bad. The figure was no longer pointing the bolt at him, but rather he could hear her on the other side of the door whispering to someone else. Concentrating he tried to recongise what they were saying.

"Bloody thing nearly killed me and your worried about him!"

Said the angry whisper which sounded male and gruff.

"Will you keep your voice down! If you think that was bad then you try dealing with him if he gets free. Now I have to go to go and meet Chrys, you keep an eye on him."

There was a long silence and then the voice replied.

"You're leaving me alone with it?"

There was a tinge of fear to it.

"You have a weapon and he is chained up I hardly think there should be a problem."

Jake wondered if the woman knew about werewolf bites, she must do, she knew about silver. There was a long silence and then a door shutting quietly, his assailant entered the room crossbow pointed straight at him, Jake growled the crossbow shivered but stayed pointed. 

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Jeannie circled the edges of the aniseed scent trying in vain to pick up anything that would help her.

Nothing! Just endless trails of the scent bomb. Well, the bounty hunter had obviously thought about this and must have known that there was a chance they would be tracked. That didn't bode well, they seemed too well prepared.

She couldn't just walk away, Jake had risked himself to help her before and despite her first impressions of him she found herself beginning to like him, when you got underneath the anger and the defensive pride he seemed to be quite a nice person. She couldn't leave knowing a friend was in the hands of people like that bounty hunter.

She carried on trying to pick up the trail, growing more and more annoyed at every aniseed trail, if she was human shaped she would have swore...instead as a wolf she howled

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Patrick woke with a start and it took him a second or two to realize that he was back in his own room, not on the floor of the cell. Outside he could hear the howl of a wolf, not too distant.

It was still dark enough outside that the moon shone through his window providing him enough light to wash and dress by.

_I'm going to have to get some new clothes today. Maybe there will be time after we nab Chrys._

He felt great. For the first time since this whole adventure began, he felt great. No pain, no worry, no...nothing. A thought in the back of his mind reminded him that this probably had a great deal to do with Sally and the attention she gave him yesterday.

_Flowers? No, probably not a good idea. Chocolates? I wonder if vampires eat...oh for crying out loud ofcourse they do! Everybody does!_

Alright, so after buying some new clothes it would be a box of chocolates for Sally.

"I should probably get Jeannie and Mrs Wizzard a case for all the trouble I've caused them."

His little joke was interrupted by a second howl from outside. Walking to the window he peered out into the darkness and became aware...

_Everyone in the house is asleep. 5 heartbeats. I don't sense anyone else on the street close by. Might have to go for a walk..._

The thought that kept running through his head was this; he only knew of two wolves in this city - althought there could be dozens. Right? They might just be out for a bit of late night mischief, but then again..

_I'll go for a walk. Maybe there's someplace open that I can grab a bite to eat, get some coffee. I won't interfere._

Grabbing his jacket from the hook he stepped outside onto the street. He was amazed at how clearly he could see in the dark! Across the street there was a watchman. He was standing in an unlit doorway almost completely covered in shadow, but Patrick could 'see' him almost plain as day.

_This would have come in handy on all those damn nights of guard duty!_

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Straining her senses Jeannie looked down all the available routes but still she had absolutly no idea which way to go. She had to assume Jake was still alive, there was no evidence to prove otherwise.

_damn damn damn damn damn! well if they didn't kill him on sight they must have a reason for taking him in one piece. Hopefully he'll be ok. There's really not much else I can do...damn! _

She looked around, she had lost her bearings. She had been so intent on following the scents that she hadn't paid attention to her surroundings,

_if I follow the river I'll soon find my way to a familiar part of the city and be able to get back to my lodgings_

She set off down the road where the scent of the Ankh was strongest, she should soon come to parts of the city she knew then she should go home and rest, she couldn't help anyone if she was exhausted and she would need her wits about her to bust Chrys in the morning

Feeling terrible about her friend being abducted by a known bounty hunter and not being able to help she walked on

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Jeannie! He'd know the howl anywhere, Leaping to his feet he heard the chains clang and there was a yelp. If Jake had not ducked he would never have howled again, a silver bolt vibrated above his head. Looking at the figure on the chair he noticed that the man's eyes were wide and he had gone terribly pale, but at the thought of nearly killing something he had been instructed not to, or because he no longer had a bolt Jake could not tell. Jake quickly began to strain at the chains, they groaned with the tremendous effort, muscles stood out clearly on the enormous wolf. He heard the man scrambling with another bolt and then there was a click and Jake knew another bolt had been fitted. Jason looked at the man, he had been bitten by a werewolf, the bite had been deep and already there was no scar, but there was a great deal of hair around the wound. The pull of the full moon must be speeding up the process, perhaps, if he was lucky…

She moved quickly and quietly, her helper wouldn't last long alone with the wolf and besides he had been bitten, but this was important Chrys needed to know that they had caught one and could perhaps use the fact to their advantage. Looking around quickly she darted into a side street that connected to the dwarf district 

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As Jeannie padded through the streets she could smell she was getting closer to the river, and she was about to turn a corner she stopped. She couldn't believe it, she could smell the bounty hunter.

Slinking into the shadows Jeannie followed in silent pursuit, she wasn't stupid enough to try and take her on. She knew she would be armed with silver. But she could at least find out what the hell was going on!

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She moved carefully but quick, confident of the route. She passed slumbering forges and donkeyless carts moving ever deeper into the district until she had began moving out of it. Right on the other side she moved to a small door and knocked, there was a muffled reply and someone came to it their eyes widening.

"You're not supposed to come here…ever."

The voice hissed angrily.

"I've got important news, it would appear there has been developments."

There was a pause and She was admitted inside, no drink was offered her or food for that matter. She took out a cigar and lit it, she knew it disconcerted seeing a woman smoking one, which is probably why she did it.

"I've got a werewolf, one of the group that has been asking questions."

"Female?" the dwarf asked seeming somewhat excited. She shook her head.

"Male, big one, one of the Uberwald's at least he was coming out of the mansion this evening."

"Where are you holding him?" the dwarf asked.

"That doesn't concern you, just let the company know that we have him and I'd like to know what they want me to do with him and what they're going to pay for him."

The dwarf appeared annoyed and frustrated she really wasn't concerned, he would get her money and they could have their rug. 

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Patrick found a small, one table cafe and sat down after asking for a cup of coffee and bacon sandwich. The place didn't look like much, but the service was good. He figured they must do most of their business once people were on their way to work.

One night he was going to have to go explore this city, find out what was out there.

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Jeannie followed the woman into the dwarf district. She stuck to the shadows and her paws made no sound, she was a skilled hunter and being stealthy came easily

She hung back as the woman knocked on a door, the voice that spoke through the door was one she had heard many many times before. Chrys!  
So he was involved with the bounty hunter too, had he given the orders in Sto Lat? _The little..._  
Forcing herself to stay where she was she watched the woman enter the building. The voices were muffled but by moving closer to a window at the side of the house she could just about hear the conversation.

So she did have Jake, and from the sound of it he was alive...for now. Pay for him? She was going to ransom him to the Company? And Chrys would name the price, he would sell Jake to the bastards who were running this whole thing.

Jeannie swallowed the rage that was welling up, she needed to stay calm and think clearly.

She bided her time, once the woman left she would follow her, the chances were she would go back to wherever they were holding Jake. What Jeannie would do then she didn't know but at least she would know where they were

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"I shall ask them and I will meet you in the usual place in one hour, don't be late and don't ever come back here."

The door was flung shut in the woman's face after she had been escorted to it.

His Jailor, it seemed, emboldened by the fact that his victim could not escape the chains had began taunting Jake. Dancing inches out of his reach, his reflexes seemed to have increased without the man knowing and he would dart in and touch the tip of the bolt to Jake whenever he thought that werewolf was asleep, he felt anger boiling inside of him almost completely blocking out conscious thought and replacing it with nothing but the lust to kill.

She moved carefully the streets, the night was drawing on and it would be many hours before the sun started shining and the streets were thronged with people again. Heading for the river and the less desirable parts of town, she stopped outside a door and slipped inside hearing a low rumbling growling from downstairs and wondered what had happened in her absence. 

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Still hidden in the shadows Jeannie tailed the woman back towards the river. The woman stopped at a door and went inside. Jeannie stayed in the shadows for a few minutes just to be sure, the crept towards the building. She could smell Jake inside and another werewolf? She sniffed again... no, not a pure werewolf but still someone with better strength and skills than the average human could possess.

_Ok, I know where they are keeping him, and I know that there isn't much time. I also know I'm stuck in this form until morning and I can't even open the damn door! _

She wonderd if Jake would be able to detect her presence from here, not that that would be much use to either of them. If he was still in there it meant he couldn't get out. She needed help...the woman would be going out again in an hour to meet Chrys again, that would leave just Jake and the thing in there with him. If she could just open the door then maybe she could...of course!

She knew that if this worked Jake probabaly wouldn't be pleased about her involving Patrick, he still seemed to have a probelm with the guy but he was the only person who could help right now. She ran through the streets to Patricks lodgings, he wasn't there! Damn! In full tracking mode she followed his scent and found him in a tiny cafe.

She barked to get his attention and thought

_You better be able to hear this! I am not going to do a Laddy act!come with me now!!_

From his reaction she seemed to have got through. thank goodness!

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Even after he had finished eating, the priest remained in the temple, thinking. In the end he reached a decision.

_I'm not going to wait here and let those damn bloodsuckers find me and rip my throats out!_  
_They are werewolves, not vampires. And youve just got one throat._  
_Oh, well what about you?_  
_I'm you._  
_Oh._

He left the temple, carefully avoiding the streets where the murder took place and wondering what had happened to the golem.

_I shouldve told him to come back in case it takes so long. Damn._

From an old friend of his, the priest purchased lots of scent bombs and a new silver knife, _not_ engraved, just to be sure. He thought of purchasing some larger weapons but wouldnt know what to do with them, so he left it at that.  
He retreated into a dark alley and opened a scent bomb with his knife, spilling the contained ... stuff all over his robe.  
He then started strolling through the city, unsure of what to do next.

He peered into a cafe and, to his amazement, spotted Patrick.

_At least someone sensible._

He was feeling reassured and safe by his newly aquired smell, and reached for a pamphlet, when he noticed that Patrick was busy watching a barking dog. Or wolf, the priest was never good at animology or whatever. Except lemons of course. Show him a lemon and he could definitley say: That is a lemon.  
The Priest waited at the door, to see what the two of them would do.

_They have to come out this way, so why disturb them? Be polite, at least once._

The Priest shuddered at these strange alien thoughts. He would have to go and see a doctor when this was over.

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Patrick was startled at the bark, he had been lost in thought.

As he looked around , he saw the outline of the wolf carefully hidden in the shadows across the way. Anyone else would have walked within feet of here and been not aware of her being there.

"Jeannie?"

The wolf gave a low growl.

_Um...okay. This could be strange..._

Quickly downing the last sip of coffee, Patrick stood and walked across the street trying to remain as calm as possible.

As he got closer Jeannie turned and began to trot through the darkness. Following her was easy.

_Wonder what this is all about..._

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When Mrs. Wizzard awoke she was on the floor into a cold sweat. She shot up in a sitting position and looked around. After a moment she gave a sigh of relief, grateful that it was only a dream. She looked out the window, it was still dark out. Well, it was obvious she wasn't going to be able to get anymore sleep tonight, so she dressed into her robes and hat and headed out to see if any of her friends were up as well.

As she walked on she saw the temple come into view. She was about to head for it when she heard a bark behind her. It seemed to be coming from that cafe not far back. It didn't sound like a normal dog. Could that be Jeannie? she thought.

Caught between the two places, Mrs. Wizzard stood in the street, not knowing which way she should go.

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The Priest started to follow Jeannie and Patrick closely.  
He was getting quite accustomed to his new smell.

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Jeannie felt the relief as Patrick followed her, although she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being a 'good dog', she had seen those posters of that Laddy dog and always felt disdain for the whole bark bark...come with me there a boy trapped in a barn routine, but this was the best plan she could come up in a hurry with to help Jake. Now she had the problem of how to make Patrick understand what exactly was going on

Could he read minds yet? Maybe if she really concentrated he could read hers?

She sniffed again, there seemed to be a strange smell following them, she turned around and saw the priest trying to look inconspicuous...what in the name of Barracudu had he put all over himself??  
She barked again, trying to signal that they really needed to pick up the pace. As she began to speed up she saw Mrs Wizzard further up the street. She seemed to have seen the group on the move.

Jeannie really hoped they got there in time to make the most of the woman going out again. It would probably be their only window of opportunity, and she didn't even want to think about what this Company might do to Jake if he was handed over to them

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Patrick began to jog behind the wolf feeling a sudden sense of urgency.

_Something's wrong. _

As they moved further down the road he saw Mrs Wizzard and motioned for her to follow..

"We're going this way...I think."

She turned and jogged up along side the pair.

As they got closer to one non descript building on the corner of the next alley, Jeannie slowed and finally came to a stop. Looking at Patrick and growling she bared some teeth in the process.

"Mrs Wizzard, I'm not sure what's going on here yet, but something's got her upset."

Before he could say anything else he could swear he heard Jeannie say Jake!

Moving closer to the brick wall of the building, Patrick could sense three definite lives inside. One was under stress; furious, pained, frustrated and above all very, very angry. The other was what patrick was beginning to know as simply human, but the thrid was...strange. Human, but with a bit of a twist.

Looking to speak to Jeannie, he saw the priest coming up from behind.

"Okay, since the four of us are here, I'm going to assume that Jake is inside. He's the one in trouble?"

The bared teeth from Jeannie said it all.

Looking at the outside of the structure, the window placement, doors and adding in where he could feel the others on the other side, Patrick came up with a quick and dirty plan.

"Mrs Wizzard? Do you happen to have some of those fireworks I asked you about earlier? The bigger the better if you please."

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Jeannie was relieved that Patrick seemed to understand the situation.  
She couldn't speak to the group in this form and at this present moment in time she couldn't do anything productive to help except wait for an opportunity so she stood in the shadows next to the building where Jake was being kept and waited to see what Patricks plan was as Mrs Wizzard stepped forward producing what seemed to be fireworks from the recesses of her robe...was there anything that lady didn't keep in there? And how did it all fit? She didn't dwell on it, it was probably something to do with quantum

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"Thanks"

Getting hold of all the fireworks he noticed that she had indeed produced some fine work.

Looking at the group he figured they probably weren't the best equipped and could stand another 10 members, but right now time was short.

"Okay, here goes. All three heartbeats seem to be coming from one floor below, probably the basement or storage area. There is one door on this side that leads in to the house itself, but we still need to get downstairs."

"Here's what I see. We need a diversion and and entry. We'll light two sets of large fireworks; one will be thrown through that window there. As that one goes off, I'll go through the door first and head to the top of the stairs leading to the basement and throw the second firework. I'll go down with Jeannie and Mrs Wizzard to get Jake."

Turning to the priest, Patrick addressed him specifically;

"You sir, will need to take the rest of these and set off as much smoke as you can in the alley, on the street and in front of the houses closest to us. I don't want anyone looking out and seeing what's going on once the explosions start. Also, our exit should be covered in case these guys have help in the area."

Addressing Jeannie, he said;

"Sarge. There is one human and one...other inside. Now, I'm strong enough, but I don't know what that thing is. Given your current state, I think you should take the human/whatever it is. it is currently located on the far side of this wall, so when we go in, headin deep and you'll find it. Could be a little smokey down there. I'll take the human. Right now it's closest to Jake."

"Mrs Wizzard. Jake is closest to this wall, so he'll probably be right at the entrance to the room. Give Jeannie and myself a two second head start through the door after the bang and get Jake. If he's tied up or chained, you'll need to use some of your magic."

"Once we're done we grab whatever we've got and head back out here where our good friend will be covering our escape. If we get separated, meet up at the next alley."

_Alright hero, let's do this..._

"Everyone ready? Good"

He lit the two packs and handed one to Mrs Wizzard. As she ran to the window he and Jeannie made their way to the door, which beyond belief was not locked.

BOOOOOM

He ducked inside and threw the pack down the stairs at the closed door.

Turning his back toward the stairwell, he knelt down and covered Jeannie

KA-WUMP!

"Go, go, go!"

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She turned around and dropped the cigar on the basement floor, she had definitely heard something. Moving into the room she looked at her companion, he seemed to be unaware that he was a great deal hairier, not to mention he held the crossbow with a great deal more nerve and decided that now was not the time to mention it.

"I thought I heard a noise, go upstairs and make sure everything is okay, leave the crossbow with me, I'll keep an eye on our friend."

Without a word, or even a feeble protest the hairy man handed her the crossbow and started up the stairs. As her companion reached the top the door opened and a colourful explosions ripped through the house, causing the building to shake. Her companion was thrown backwards by the force of the blast but seemed to leap to his feet again and dive into smoke. Slamming the door shut she looked at Jake whose eyes seemed to have lost their human intelligence and had been replaced by…something else.

Jake felt his entire body tense as, in that strange way of animals, he knew that something was about to happen and tugged wildly at his bonds. When the explosion came it felt like a physical blow, so loud was it in the house and in wolf form that he thought his ear drums would shatter and he howled in pain and anger. The second explosion was even louder and a ringing started to sound in his ears.

She couldn't see through the smoke but she knew where Jake was and backing against the wall she shouted.

"If anyone makes another move I swear I'll shoot it! And you have to ask yourselves are you faster than a bolt!"

She took aim and waited 

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_Hehe, I have been given specific orders. I am superios to these common people._ thought the priest, ignoring the fact that however specific, orders were still orders.  
He did as instructed.

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As Jeannie got ready to run down the steps the form of the wolf-man thing flew at her out of the smoke. She sprang at him knocking him backwards, they rolled down the stairs and hit the closed door at the bottom.

She had heard Jakes howl and that only added fuel to her rage which she poured into her attack on the wolf man, he was trying to give as good as he was getting but he didn't stand a chance against a true werewolf. She stopped herself before she killed him, he would live but wouldn't be anymore trouble right now.

She heard the womans shout and her eyes narrowed

_it?_

She thought quickly, the room should be full of smoke, the woman sounded shaken, all they needed was a diversion. Thankfully right at that moment the first of the priests explosions rang out, knowing the womans attention would be momentarily distracted Jeannie threw herself at the door hoping she could open it through sheer force, as she rebounded Patrick reached down and turned the handle

_Thankyou!_

Jeannie sprang through the door, feeling somthing whizz past her shoulder and leapt at the woman who went down under Jeannies full weight, her hand holding an now empty cross bow. Jeannie growled inches away from the womans face, and looked over to Jake. Seeing him chained and muzzled made her blood boil and she increased the intensity of her growl.

She could see Jake straining on the chains, the fury in his eyes made her hope feverently that he could still distinguish between them and the enemy

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Mrs. Wizzard waited exactly two seconds and darted inside the building. It was filled with smoke but she could just make out Jake bound to a chain. Running up to him she realised she had to use magic to undo the bound.

"Bear with me here, Jake, it's going to take a minute to take apart this chain."

She made motions in the air as if untying an invisible knot and the chain's links started to come apart.

"Hold it right there!" Mrs. Wizzard jumped back as a silver bolt just barely missed her head. She looked up and saw someone standing there holding a crossbow. She couldn't make out who they were in the smoke. As she heard another bolt being fitted in her incredibly short temper took over. Involuntarily, Mrs. Wizzard cast out an arm and shot a blast of octarine fire towards the figure. The blast was strong enough to blow the person back but not kill them.

While they were distracted, Mrs. Wizzard began untying the chain again and nearly ripped it out of the wall. Part of the chain was still around Jake but he was free.

"Jake," Mrs. Wizzard panted. "You have to get out. That last blast drained a lot of my energy and magic, but I'll catch up. Get out, now!"

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The plan hadn't worked out exactly as patrick had envisioned, but they were inside at least. He saw Jeannie tackle the woman and Mrs Wizzard helping Jake.

"Let's get ready to move! This smoke isn't all from the fireworks, I think we've got a fire upstairs!"

The explosions outside were like seconds ticking away on a clock. Soon, not only would the entire neighborhood be awake, but the rest of the Watch would be running to the scene. He didn't want Jeannie having to explain all this to Vimes.

Moving back towards the stairs, Patrick could see the figure up above through the smoke. Silly bstard.

_I guess we'll have to take him with us. can't let him die here._

If Chrys was upset about the Dun Brothers and going to be upset about the vampire in the cell, he would be absolutley furious at this latest development.

He could almost make out laughter coming from the street above.

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The priest had moved to the other side of the street and was watching the burning building in fake awe.  
It's not as if he could help them, anyway.

_Oh, yeah? Feel guilty!_

He _did_ feel a bit guilty, though.

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_After being chased by a freelancing feegle working for Gimlet's, Barrucadu felt a bit miffed and headed back to the temple._

"Ah, priest! How's the enslav...recruitment going?"

_He watches the priest shift uncomfortably._

"What, you haven't got ANYONE? Well, go and find some believers! Also, when I get a lot of followers, i'll make you my first cenobiarch."

_He waves a golden chain of office tantalisingly in front of his priest._

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Jeannie looked over at Jake and barked _go! now!_

She nudged Mrs Wizzard in an effort to get her up the stairs, she looked worn out after that display

Jeannie could smell the smoke and sense the heat above, they had to get out of here now and before any watch officers turned up to ask awkward questions.  
she let out another growling bark to get her point across and they all began to make their way up the stairs, with Jeannie bringing up the rear to make sure no-one was left behind

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As Mrs. Wizzard walked up the stairs, she held onto the wall for support. She was already tired from the last couple of days and she hadn't used such a strong amount of magic in a long time. The world was getting blurry, and she felt dizzy.

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Jeannie kept nudging Mrs Wizzard up the stairs until she had pushed her into the arms of Patrick

_get her out of here!_

She could see Jake moving ahead of her, the chains were still hanging off his legs and she could feel his fury at being restrained like that.

Jeannie resisted a serious urge to turn back and gouge the woman's throat out as she watched her friends move to relative safety. She followed them out on to the streets where they quickly dispersed into a nearby side street before any officials turned up

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Patrick made it to the side street with Mrs Wizzard holding on to one arm and dragging the stranger with the other.  
The smoke screen put up by the priest had been sufficiently thick and he doubted they had been seen.

Stopping momentarily he saw the first rays of light beginning to crawl overhead and feared they wouldn't have enough time to make a proper escape.

He dropped the man to the ground and focused on Mrs Wizzard to make sure she wouldn't pass out. Her life force was weak, but through exhaustion, not injury.

Taking off his jacket he motioned to Jeannie to see if she wanted to change back.

"You and Jake going to - do whatever it is you do, or do you want to follow me? My place is just a few blocks from here and Mrs Wizzard could probably do with a lay down."

He didn't think they should turn up at the Watch House just yet stinking of smoke, as a fire rages just down the way.

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Smoke, there was so much smoke it was blinding even to his nose it was blinding. He never heard Mrs Wizard the explosions still left ringing in his ears but he could sense it, danger and it was all around him and he was stuck! He howled, but he could not hear his own voice and then, there was no resistance, he was free. Now he would teach them, now they would learn what it was to cage him, he snapped blindly in the smoke seeking a target any target. The figure that emerged was not one he had expected and was taken aback. It was another wolf and she darted past him and to a prone figure on the ground. He could feel the vibration of her bark, but could not tell what she had said and then the other wolf and the figure had disappeared into the smoke. A falling beam hit him hard on the rump and he leapt forwards into the inferno after the wolf. The tunnel of smoke seemed to go on forever, the heat and dust forcing him to close his eyes to nothing more than slits. Finally he leapt from the building just as the door creaked and collapsed. The other wolf was standing over a prone figure. Jake's ears twisted this way and that frantically trying to catch some sound, but still all he could hear was the ringing. Scents started to filter back, the smoke was even stronger than the stink of the river but there was singed fur and burning flesh. Jake stood his pelt was a blaze and he did not seem to notice, his eyes instead finding a target to vent is rage, they turned to the Patrick, they turned to a vampire. A snarl of hatred and anger sent quivers through his chest as it shook his body with its intensity. His shackles were still wrapped around his feet and the muzzle was still clamped firmly over his mouth. He never took his eyes from the blood sucker instead he began to open his jaws, stretching the metal mask into a hideous mask, trying to snap it with the strain. 

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Patrick turned at the sound of growling and saw the wolf that was Jake focusing on him. At first, he tried to reason that Jake was hurt, stressed and maybe more than a little confused from the explosions, smoke and resulting fire. But as seconds passed he saw that Jake wasn't backing down or diverting his eyes.

_What the hell?_

Looking at the weakened form of Mrs Wizzard he knew she couldn't run quick enough to get away if this went bad. More people were coming out of their houses to watch the fire and the sound of running feet told of more officers arriving on the scene.

"Jake! Snap out of it! We just saved your butt! Let's get out of here, c'mon!"

The wolf, still staring him down, let out another deep growl and strained against the muzzle.

Although he couldn't see her, Patrick called to Jeannie, "Sarge, take care of your friend here before this gets public!"

_The ungrateful little...Who does he think he is? He got himself captured - yet again! AND we just risked ourselve to come save his butt!_

A spark of anger ignited somewhere deep inside him and Patrik felt the adrenaline begin to pump. His eyes focused on Jake, every hair on his body becoming clear. The smell of burned hair and skin forever marking him as "Jake" in Patrick's mind. He could hear the sound of Jake's heartbeat...

"Fool! You want to do this? You want to do this right here, right now? I'm beginning to think we should left you with them!"

His eyes sparked red his fists clenched the daggers that appeared almost as if by magic in his hands. They weren't silver, but a good cut would do just as well right now.

"Keep it up Jake! You'll not only cause more trouble for us and the Watch, but you may end up without a tail before this over!"

Standing between Jake and Mrs Wizzard, Patrick knew that he wouldn't be able to stop someone from getting hurt, but godsdamn if he would let this...this...wolf! turn this into a scene out in the public view.

"Mrs Wizzard! You've got anything left in you? We might need ...

He didn't get to finish the sentence. On the perimeter of the gathering on-lookers he could feel...Sally! She was there. Just like she had promised. If he ever felt like he was going to lose it, Sally said she'd know.

_We need to get out of here. Someone is going to find us here and then there will be questions ...and answers expected._

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breathing deeply to try and clear the smoke in her lungs, Jeannie looked about...everyone seemed to be out of the building. She could see Mrs Wizzard, the Priest...

"Sarge, take care of your friend here before this gets public!"

She turned around to the direction of Patricks shout

_oh no_

Seeing Jake and Patrick, she could read the situation loud and clear. Thankfully the muzzle was still on Jake or this could have turned nasty already

This was not the time or place for them to have a ruckus, she could smell Sally somwhere near here and hoped she could deal with Patrick.

Jeannie had no idea if Jake was still thinking coherently through the fury she could see in his eyes, but she approached him anyway. She stood between him and Patrick keeping eye contact with him the entire time. Softly she spoke to him in their own language of the wolf

_This is not the time. We need to get away_

Although her words were spoken softly her stance clearly showed that she was ready if she had to be, she would stop him from hurting anyone.

_Come with me. Get away from here_

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The blood sucker had bared his glittering teeth (read knives) Jake felt water thrown over him, but he did not turn nor did he stop his attempt at removing the muzzle. His prey was screaming something, but he could not hear, just the ringing that assaulted him all the time and which he could not clear form his mind. He had not scented her approach, one moment he faced the blood sucker and then next another pair of eyes stared at him. He saw her movements and recognised her stance of defence he grew weary of her but he did not attack.

_I cannot hear you_

He conveyed to her with the movements of the language, a constant moving of the ears as though hunting for sound and a quick shake of his head. A concern growl/whine escaped him at the strangeness of the silence.

_Why are you stopping me hunt, help me, hunt with me._

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Patrick took the opportunity that Jeannie gave him and placed the daggers back into his jacket. Turning quickly, he scooped up Mrs Wizzard and began making his way down the side street away from the commotion.

He wasn't sure if Sally had actually seen him and he didn't want to start lying to her, but he'd try to think of something to tell her.

He could still feel the adrenaline pumping through him, his sense on high alert.

_I've got to get her to a safe place. _

He knew it would be silly to take her back to the Watch House right now and he couldn't very well walk into his boarding house with her half alseep in his arms either.

Finding the little cafe he had been at when all this started, he placed her in the chair at the sidewalk table and sat down next to her.

_Never a dull moment around this pace is there?_

In the distance he could hear the shouts and sounds of the Watch forming a fire brigade to deal with the mess he had left behind.

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watching his response she realised Jake couldn't hear her or indeed anything else. It must have been the explosions she realised, a werewolves ears were very sensitive and those fire works had been pretty big

Sensing Patrick moving away, she relaxed a little.  
She communicated again with Jake, this time trying to use mainly body language

_leave here.danger coming. come with me._

shw walked away a little and looked back at him hoping he would get the message, she could hear the sounds of the watch arriving and they had to get away right now. There was no way she could explain this one to Vimes

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The Priest, watching the two werewolves cautiously, hurried towards the cafe. After all, he had enough lycantrophic troubles as it is.  
When he got in it was pretty easy to spot Patrick and Mrs Wizz. People were edging away from that horribly-smelling, ragged-looking priest.

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Jake saw the retreating figure of Patrick and almost leapt after him, but there was danger the female had said and he could not hear, perhaps there was something coming? Jake growled in frustration in the direction the blood sucker had retreated and followed the female, occasionally bumping her flank with his shoulder. The ringing had gotten softer though, instead being replaced by silence which was somehow more unnerving, he alternated between whine and growl trying to hear himself, but there was nothing.

As they moved the scent and reassuring feel of the female, so familiar so comforting cooled his rage and in its place a creeping anxiety stole over him, he could not hear, he was not sure where he was and he could not remove this mask of metal, so he followed the only thing he could recognise and was sure of, the female, she would knew what to do, for now, she was the leader. 

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With Jake sticking close to her Jeannie led the way through various streets and alleys until she was sure they were a long way away from the burning house

She listened to his whines and growls as they walked, he seemed confused and it looked like he still couldn't hear anything. The sight of the metal muzzle on his face upset her, she wanted to take it off but with no hands it was going to be pretty difficult. She looked up at the sky, dawn was on its way but she couldn't change yet, the hold of the moon on her morphic field was still too powerful. But seeing him like this was just too much, she would have to try and get it off him. He seemd anxious enough and that thing on his face couldn't be helping

She turned down into an alley and after they had gone a fair way down it she stopped and turned to Jake. Very slowly, showing him she posed no threat, she rubbed her face alongside his, until she could feel the leather straps of the muzzle between her teeth, biting down hard she could feel them weakening. A few more bites and the biggest strap had broken, some more well placed bites took care of the other straps. She took hold of it in her teeth and pulled the wretched thing off him.

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Jake followed, unsure or uncaring where they went as long as he did not lose sight of her. Eventually she led him into an alley where she stopped and turned to him. He snorted out again, still trying to clear the remaining vestiges of smoke from his nostrils. His eyes followed her as she moved to his side but as he turned his head to follow her he could feel the vibration of her howl against his skin and knew that she wanted him to look away. The warm fur of her face felt calming on the side of his and he stayed still. He felt her breath and felt the mask tighten as she pulled the strap. It took a while but eventually the mask slackened its grip on his face and clanged to the floor. He turned and licked her nose in gratitude and thought he caught a muffled whine coming form himself, it was very faint but it was there.

As the human mind grew stronger, now that anger and fear had ebbed and the pull of the moon waned, Jake could feel shame enter him. The wolf not recognised friend or foe, he had acted like a cub and now he had licked Jeannie? The wolf shook his human mind and licked began to clean Jeannie's ears in gratitude. 

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She could feel the relief coming from Jake as the horrible metal muzzle fell to the floor. She knew that relief, she had been muzzled once...it wasn't an experience she would ever care to repeat

As he licked her she nuzzled him to gently tell him they needed to move away from here, the sun was rising and the streets would soon fill up with people.

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With that final nuzzle the wolf mind seemed to lose control and Jake re-asserted his control, feeling the full force of the idiot he had been, allowing himself to be governed by emotion and allowing rage to sweep through him so that he could not tell who his friends were. Backing away his expression was one of apology and his eyes seemed to burn with humiliation at such an enormous loss of control.

_Home_

He said and turned darting off in the shadows back towards the Von Uberwald mansion. As he moved he replayed the nights events, they seemed to be almost dreamlike, misty and ethereal. Entering the doggy flap he noticed that many of the family wolves were returning and heading to their baskets or simply lolling before the fire. Some turned to look at him, others merely twitched their ears, a single female came up to him, it was his wonderful sister. She licked his nose and he gave a low yip of greeting, he actually heard the yip, distantly, but he could hear it. Moving up the stairs he entered his room and flopped to the ground exhausted.

Moments later he was stretched out naked on the same floor, the burns on his back already healing over. His body ached with tiredness and he realised he'd never had the chance to eat, but he needed to meet up with his friends before they went to the shades to investigate the vampire's contact place. Struggling to his feet he moved to the shower and tried to get rid of the smell of smoke. He ate and dressed and finally collapsed on the bed, he just needed a moment to catch his breath.

_The flames were so hot, they were blistering his skin and he was chained, smoke, so thick it seemed impossible to breathe. He was chained and the muzzle on his face was so strong he could feel rage building inside of him, he wanted to howl with the injustice and he longed to rip into flesh…._

He started awake, sitting up and looking around, his heart was hammering but he finally managed to relax when he realised where he was. He looked out the window and realised that it was already daylight, he needed to find his friends, but could he really face them? Perhaps it would be easier to face one at a time. Leaving the mansion he went to Jeannie's boarding house and sniffed discretely until he found he rdoor and knocked, hoping that she was still in. He felt ridiculous and embarrassed _you licked her ears!!_

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Watching him back away she saw the apologetic look in his eye, before she could say anything he had turned and gone.

With the sun rising she realised how tired she was it had been a long night and she had had little rest, she made her way back to her lodgings and into her room. Changing into human form she washed to get rid of the smell of the smoke that clung to her, then fell onto her bed into a deep sleep. If she did dream she didn't remember it

A knocking noise brought her out of her sleep sometime later, in the haziness of sleep it took her a few seconds to realise it was coming from her door. Realising she was still not dressed she scrambled for her clothes

"Who is it?"

Jakes voice answered her question as she hastily pulled on her trousers and shirt

Buttoning up her shirt she opened the door

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Mrs, Wizzard vaguely remembered shouts and growls, and then being moved somewhere. Here it was much more quiet and still. Right now she felt like she was having a hangover as she tried to figure out where she was.

This certainly wasn't a bed, unless someone has some weird condition where they had to sleep sitting up. She could hear a few other people around her, but they were far off. Suddenly, Mrs. Wizzard felt like she was being watched. She opened her eyes and the world slowly came back into focus.

_How'd I get here?_

Turning her head, Mrs. Wizzard gave a short scream as the shock of seeing Patrick right next to her made her fall out of the chair.

"...I'm okay," she said and stood up, stumbling a bit as she used the table for support.

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He stood quietly for a moment thinking of something he could say.

"Last night…"

He began, but trailed off as though wondering if it was truly a good idea to go down this route.

"Last Night, was a very long night and I think the wolf was more in control than I was."

The wolf had needed a companion, as confused and Jeannie had been another werewolf. Ever since he was young and his family rejected him he had thought himself an independent wolf and even accepted back into the fold, he thought himself as a team player but able to take care of himself. Last night the wolf had been angry, confused and scared and it had latched onto Jeannie like a life raft.

"So, I guess what I'm saying is…sorry, I'm feeling pretty ashamed, a 'bad dog'."

He mocked. 

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She looked at him earnestly

"Don't worry about it, really."

he really did look very embarrassed, she wanted to put him at his ease, he really didn't need to feel bad about it.

"Look... I've had times when the wolf is more in control than I am. I understand, so please don't let it bother you"

Jeannie took a good look at him. Apart from the wounded pride he seemed to be alright , she gave him a small smile

"I'm just glad you are ok, for a while back there I didn't think I'd find you"

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He still felt stupid, but if she wanted to forget it then he was all to willing to do the same.

"At the start of the night I didn't realise I would need finding. The bounty hunter form Sto Lat, the fireworks were inspired, but I still can't hear properly and was it Mrs Wizard that got rid of my chains? I thought I felt magic sizzle my fur."

He looked up and down the corridor

"Were we going to be strolling down to the shades this morning?"

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"well, you can thank Patrick for the fireworks, once I'd found out where you were I had to get help, and yes Mrs Wizzard magicked the chains away and the priest was the one causing all the explosions outside"

He still seemed to be feeling a bit awkward about last night, but there wasn't much she could do about that. She really didn't think any less of him for it, if anything it had made her feel something she hadn't felt for while, it had been along time since she had been in the company of another wolf, and when he had asked her to hunt with him it had struck somthing she hadn't even been aware was still there...to hunt, and to hunt with one of her own kind again...she shook the thought away and answered Jakes question

"we are going to the shades later yes, but Patrick will be there. Will you be ok with that? you two seem to have a bit of a problem wiht each other. I don't want there to be any other issues going on besides trying to catch Chrys this morning..."

She sighed, turned and walked to her bed, sitting on the end of it she held her head in her hands and said quietly

"Chrys is also involved with the bounty hunter, I heard them talking" She kept her face down to hide the raw hurt that was so evident on her face

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He didn't quite catch what she said as she walked away and sat on the bed, but he entered the room and shut the door behind himself. No big deal, he'd only been taught to despise vampires and to give them the maximum amount of pain before killing them, but he thought that this wouldn't be the best time to tell her that. He didn't have to have good hearing to sense the thinly veiled sadness in her voice. Sitting down close beside her, so that he could cover the fact that he was having trouble hearing more than anything, he touched her shoulder.

"This Chrys guy, what is it about you and him? I mean a friend right?"

He wasn't an idiot it was pretty obvious he was something.

"What happened? Argument?" 

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She nodded silently, and lifted her head

"yes, he was a friend. One of my closest friends for a very long time."

She stared at the floor as she spoke, the memories of years past playing before her eyes

"Years ago when I was still pretty much a pup, I'd been out hunting with my family. I got hurt and my family left me behind, they are a nurturing kind of family that like" she said bitterly  
"Chrys found me and helped me, it was a bad injury...first time I had encountered silver. why he did that I don't know but he patched me up and made sure I got home ok. We became good friends for years.He was the only one who understood how desperately miserable I was after my sister died. He was one of the few people I've ever been able to trust..apart from Minnie"

her voice began to break as she spoke, she stopped for a while, she didn't want to cry in front of Jake.

She managed to get a hold of herself "He wasn't happy about me joining the watch, there were words said, stupid nasty words and shortly afterwards he moved to a new mine and we lost touch...I guess now all he sees when he looks at me is just another watch officer"

She looked up at Jake, to her horror a tear rolled down her cheek, she wiped it away quickly.

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Everyone has stories, some of them good some of them bad, but usually there is a mixture of both and it seemed that right now he was finding out one of Jeannie's bad ones. He wasn't sure what to say or do, the wolf gave him a number of ideas and he dismissed them all as inappropriate in his current form. So instead they sat saying nothing and Jake held her shoulder so that she knew he was there more than anything he supposed.

"We don't even know if this is the same Chrys do we? Or someone using the name because they know it will hurt you?"

Or perhaps a werewolf did something unforgivable to him or someone he cared about and blames them all, and you just happen to be one of us and he felt betrayed. Jake decided that the last part of that was best not spoken aloud.

"I think if I fall asleep I won't wake up for a day or so, perhaps we should get some food?"

He asked trying to lighten the mood, probably a bad idea, but he was fresh out of the good ones. 

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Patrick had to suppress a laugh at the sight of Mrs Wizzard falling off the chair. He was still trying to come down off of full vampire mode, but like Sally had said, it was like a child wanting attention.

"Sorry Mrs Wizzard. I must be a sight, huh?"

Motioning to the cup of coffee that he had ordered for her, he helped her regain her seat.

"You've only been out for a couple of minutes. You used a lot of magic back there in the house. You saved Jake. Good work!"

He told her the rest of the story and explained that the idea didn't involve actually starting a fire. The plan was to stun those inside long enough to allow a quick entry and containment of the room.

"But, I guess the god of hostage rescue missions had another plan."

Seeing the white steam overhead that signified more water than flame back at the old house, Patrick remembered that Sally was bound to be close by.

"Are you good enough to walk? We should really get out of here. We don't want to be seen so close to the excitement."

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Mrs. Wizzard gulped down her coffee to keep from laughing, herself, and carefully stood up.Her legs seemed to be awake, at least.

"Yeah, I think I can walk." She took a look around. "I wonder where Jeannie and Jake got off to."

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Jeannie sat quietly for a moment, grateful for the small comfort Jake was giving.She shook her head

"it is definitly him, It was his voice talking to the woman who caught you..."

She broke off, she hadn't meant to say so much about her past but it was done now, and part of her admittedly felt slightly better for voicing how she had been feeling since she had found out about Chrys' part in all this

Jakes hand on her shoulder was warm and reassuring. At the mention of food she realised she hadn't eaten a thing since her shift ended yesterday.

"Yeah, some food would be good right now"  
As she spoke her stomach growled, which broke the sad atmosphere slightly and she smiled despite herself. She reached up and touched his hand, in a silent gesture of thanks

"Come on, lets go get something to eat"

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As they walked Jake thought about Jeannie's story and wondered if werewolves wouldn't be better off if they just made friends amongst themselves, after all it seemed that other friendships seemed to break down. Except in the watch tons of different people were, if not friendly at least able to work together and for now this little group was all that he had and they had risked their lives to save him. He was grateful, he kept touching his face, making sure that the muzzle was actually off. The complete feeling of vulnerability and helplessness had galled him. How easy it had been for them to capture him, he was getting sloppy, he needed to be more alert from now on.

As the two walked towards the café the group always seemed to use the scents of the other three floated to him.

"Looks like our friends are already eating something."

The scent of Patrick was tinged with that of a leech and he couldn't help the hairs on his neck from rising, but he berated himself and reminded himself that Patrick had been instrumental in his release. 

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Approaching the cafe, Jeannie could see her friends sat at the outside table. Their scents wafted over

"Yuck!, what _has_ the priest put on himself? He smells awful!"

Jeannie greeted her friends as her and Jake walked up to the table, after ordering her food she sat down with them looking around, everyone seemed to be in one piece after last night events

"Well, last night was certainly eventful...um, thanks everyone. I couldn't have done it on my own"

As she began to eat her food she carefully watched Jake and Patrick incase one of them decided to carry on where they left off last night, things seemed calm at the moment.

Well, time to bring up the business of the day.

"Ok, so we are going to bust Chrys this morning. We have the address he uses in the shades. Does anyone have ideas they want to put forward?"

She didn't mention she knew where to find him in the dwarf district, trying to arrest a dwarf in there at the moment would be suicide

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Patrick had been able ignore the smell wafting off the priest for the longest time. Now that Jeannie mentioned it out loud ...

"Got a dead rat in your pocket?"

Patrick sat and ate his breakfast with the rest, avoiding having to look directly at Jake. Now wouldn't be the best time to start.

In response to Jeannie's question he replied;

"I had originally though we might use our vampire friend back in the cell. Now, I'm not so sure. We could have sent him to the meet up address so that he could be seen going about business as usual. Then we would have positioned ourselves around the place to be able to see Chrys enter. Once inside, his chances for escape would have been restricted."

"The thing I'm wondering about now is, does he know about his little freind? It's possible there are others at work around here that reported to Chrys. Also, all the excitement this morning surely got back to him by now. He knows someone is on to him, but does he know who?"

Realizing he wasn't putting foward anything useful..

"I'm just trying to avoid any more...fires."

_I've got to try to see Sally today, try to explain to her what I was doing near the scene of the fire - in that...state of mind. She could feel me, but I don't think she saw me._

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Jake said nothing, he was ashamed of last night and desperately trying not to make his skin crawl as he sat down on the table with Patrick. His heart started beating a little faster and it annoyed him that Patrick must be able to hear it, which made it speed up a little more. Sighing he managed to bring it back down and listened to the lance-constables words. Tears began to trickle down Jake's face as he sat quietly and finally Jake had to press his arm to his face.

"Gods…that smells terrible."

His eyes stung and he pushed his chair back to try and ease the smell, it was fractionally better, but only fractionally. Turning to Mrs Wizard he spoke through the sleeve pressed to his face.

"Thank you for what you did with the chains…I don't know how to tell you how much I hate being tied up."

Turning to the priest, or at least in his direction, he had to look down at the table, looking directly at the scent was quite overwhelming.

"Thanks for the distraction, it certainly confused the hell out of the people in the house."

Finally, and reluctantly he turned to Patrick.

"I appreciate your help and the plan, despite how loud it was."

He even managed a smile behind his sleeve but he gave no apology for being ready to attack him. It was something embedded deep, not just the dislike between werewolves and vampires but something more.

"I don't think we should change the plan, it is our best shot at the moment. The house I was taken to was not in the shades and I'm pretty sure Chrys has known for a long time that we've been following him or at least that someone has. We should go to the house in the Shades. We can expect a trap, but we should go." 

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If the scent bomb had such an effect on Jake, then think what two or _three_ times as much would do on that bugger who wants to kill me. thought the priest, who was getting obsessed with the idea that a werewolf was stalking him.  
But now he would have to explain why the hell he stank like that. He hadnt thought of that. He had to invent some story, or he'd give himself away.  
He had ignored the previous questions, pretending to be feverishly studying the holy book of barrucaddu, as if it was an interesting read full of new information which would change his way of life forever, even though he wrote it. But he had to say something.  
'A-haha, im sure you are wondering about the reason for the status of my ... olfactive wossname, eh?'  
They nodded in unison.  
'Well, let me explain ... I ... have been engaging in an ancient wossname ritual which is commonly called 'quaffing' and I have been ... uh ... overdoing it. Through some strange reason I seem to have lost any memories of last night, i.e. when this happened. When I woke up, I was wearing a ... pink tutu, yes, and smelled like this.'  
_The pink tutu is a nice touch, adds some wossname to the story._  
All the priest could do now was hope like hell.

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Patrick was surprised to say the least at the comment from Jake. This was first time they had spoken directly without threats or yelling.

"No problem Jake. Actually it was Jeannie that got it all rolling."

He didn't know what else to say really. In time there would opportunity to show Jake that he wasn't really a threat to him. The...thing he had become might want it to be that way, but as long as he could, Patrick would control it.

"If we're going to use the vampire back in the cell, we may have to come up with a good story in order to get him out of there. I'm not sure if our Commander Vimes would appreciate us using a prisoner as bait. He seems a bit too straight laced for that."

The last of the steam was rising from the fire, the smell of smoldering wood blew past, slightly masking the awful odor coming from the priest.

Having heard the story he told, patrick could only think of one thing to say...

"You truly don't suffer from mental illness do you? You actually enjoy it."

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As Mrs. Wizzard listened tot he Priest's story, an image of him in a pink tutu suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks...She was going to need therapy after all of this...

"I wouldn't say he's mentally ill, he just thinks very..very differently..."

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Jake's mind listened to the priests tale and take it in, it flailed for a bit and decided against it, reverting to a time before the story.

"It smells like you've just doused yourself in one of those scent bombs"

It was very distracting but Jake managed to strike upon an idea and, to his darker side, there were no down sides.

"If we can't use the vampire, can we not dress another up in his clothing? And then have that one go to the address?" 

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Mrs. Wizzard considered this idea for a moment.

"Sounds like a good idea, but if someone dresses up in his clothing, what's _he_ gonna wear?" She waited for a moment. No one laughed. Mrs. Wizzard sulked for a moment. "Anyway, who can we get to volunteer for that?"

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Jeannie had been watching the conversations with interest, and gradually edging further away from the Priest, her eyes were watering and she was trying to avoid taking deep breaths. She tried to follow his explanation but got lost somwhere between 'quaffing' and 'tutu'

Trying to ignore the nose stinging scent Jeannie turned her attention back to the conversation at the table  
She waited to see what was said, she thought she could see where this idea was going

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Patrick stopped in mid-sip of his coffee.

"Huh?"

_Did he say, "dress up another"?_

"You can't possibly want me to..."

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Mrs. Wizzard couldn't help but laugh, now. Patrick just looked too embarassed. When she got herself together, she turned to Patrick.

"Well, you are technically a vampire. And who'd be better at pretending to be a vampire, than a vampire?"

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Jeannie smiled at Mrs Wizzards reaction, and said to Patrick

"they've got a point and Vimes would be happier if the bait was an officer."

Jeannie picked up her own coffee

"You don't _have_ to do it though." She added before taking a sip and waiting to see what he said

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"Oh suuuure."

Patrick sat there watching the group watch him for a second.

_Geez. They're loving this aren't they?_

"Fine. Okay. You got me. Seeing as how we have to get it's clothes, maybe we can find out about particulars. Passwords? Maybe they've got a secret or something silly like that? And you do know of course that as soon as Chrys gets a look at me it's over. I might be able fool a casual glance from the street, but not a face to face."

He wished he had kept his mouth shut. Using the vampire in the cell as bait looked more and more appealing.

Then again, this could be ...fun.

"Alright, let's get this thing moving. I need a shower anyway."

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Jeannie looked away from the group and pretended to be watching something down the street, probably only Jake knew why she was hiding her expression

"Don't worry about Chrys, he won't have a chance to do anything about it when he does realise that it's not his usual contact."

She stood up still facing away

"Ok, well if you are all ready then lets get this rolling. Time for another talk with our 'friend' back in the cells"

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The priest suddendly started trembling, pink foam coming out of his mouth. He fell to the ground, giggling and saying jokes in a deep bass voice. Then he settled down, but seemed to have passed out.

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Patrick had been startled somewhat by the sudden fit displayed by the priest. A quick look told him the guy was passed out but otherwise okay.

"Alright, let's get him back to his padded roo...um, temple. We can stop on our way back to the Watch House."

Patrick figured that Jeannie and Jake wouldn't be able to take the smell, so he grabbed the priest and threw him over his shoulder.

A few passing people, on their way to work no doubt, looked curiously at the departing group.

"Mrs Wizzard, remind me to give this guy a bar of soap, a hairbrush and some breath mints for Hogswatch. And by the way...what's his name?"

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Jake had remained quiet throughout the exchange and finally as they were standing he came out with a thought.

"How do we know that Chrys would recognise that it's not the right contact? How do we know that the company just doesn't sent Chrys new contacts? You know everything about us, or everything that they would know, you can always just say that you were sent by the company, that they heard about the disastrous way the captured werewolf was handled and decided to send in an expert and that you need to be brought up to speed." 

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Mrs. Wizzard wasn't really paying attention to what Jake was saying. She looked curiously at the unconcious priest.

"You know, I never thought of what his name could be. I've just been calling him 'the priest' I only met him about a week ago when this whole mess started. Check his pockets, maybe he has an ID or something"

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Still slightly distracted by the priests episode Jeannie heard Jake talking but it took her a few seconds to process it. She spoke to Patrick, discreetly keeping her distance from the priests odour

"I think Jakes got a good point! It should work, as far as we know Chrys has never seen you so he shouldn't connect you with us or the watch"

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Patrick looked at Mrs Wizzard and smiled.

"There is no way that I'm putting my hand in that mans pocket! Not gonna happen."

Looking at Jeannie he said, "You're right. I'll play the annoyed-it's-all-your-fault-I'm-here bit and see what happens."

Stopping only momentarily at the temple to put the priest to bed, the group hurried on to the Watch House. Once there, Patrick excused himself to take a quick shower.

"I still smell like smoke. Give me a few minutes and I'll meet you all at the cells, okay?"

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After Patrick went to get cleaned up, Jeannie Jake and Mrs Wizzard made their way through the watch house. Jeannie paused at the desk to ask them to pass a message to Vimes that she would be talking to the suspect they brought in yesterday...she didn't want to risk another situation like the one they ended up in the day before.

As she spoke to the officer on the desk she noticed that he smelled like smoke, he must have been on the night watch

"Everything quiet last night corporal?" She asked with a carefully blank face

"Nah Sarge, bleedin' great fire up near the river. Took ages to put it out, looked like someone had been messin' about with some bangers or summat"

"No-one hurt I hope?"

"Dunno Sarge, we didn't find any bodies or anything so if anyone was in there they must have got out"

_Damn! So that woman is still out there somewhere_

"Glad to hear it"

she forced herself to say, before turning to her friends and leading the way down to the cells

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The vampire was standing at the bars when they came down and he grinned. Jake moved like a snake and before even the vampire could move Jake had the blood sucker in a strangle hold and was lifting him off of the ground through the bars. So taken aback was the vampire that he did not call out and by the time he'd recovered he did not have the air to scream.

"Do you know that a vampire can live through having his skin stripped from him with a wooden knife coated in holy water and I can make sure you don't lose consciousness. I had a very bad night last night and I might just do something stupid."

Fear returned to the vampires face, he was an Ankh-Morporkian blood sucker they scared easily. Jake put the leech down and back away without another word letting Jeannie deal with the remainder of the situation. 

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Skin stripped off with a wooden knife coated in holy water? Well, that was certainly an insight into Jakes darker side.

She wondered if she should intervene when he grabbed the vampire, but if she was completely honest with herself she didn't want to. She had had a long night and not enough rest and she was feeling edgy about encountering Chrys this morning. Anyway she could see him putting the bloodsucker down and backing away.Jake was frighteningly good at scaring people she mused

The scent coming off the leech made her skin crawl, her body wanted to fight. But tired and edgy as she was, she was not going to let the wolf out.

She approached the cell that contained the frightened vampire rubbing at its throat

"Now listen, my colleague will be down here shortly, and in the meantime you are going to answer a few questions for me. If you think about messing me about..well" she gestured towards Jake "I think he'd quite like some quality time with you" she smiled a humourless smile

"First things first, this address you gave us. Thats your dwellings right? Where's the key?"

Scowling at her the vampire rummaged in a pocket and produced a key which it threw through the bars. Jeannie didn't move, she'd be damned if she was going to play fetch for a vampire

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Patrick was appreciative for the shower. Today was going to be long and it had already got off to a wild start.

He thought about the slow progress being made with Jake and was glad that at least on the surface, Jeannie and Mrs Wizzard were understanding of his new found...talent.

A thought enetered his mind; in the last few hours since Sally had sung to him, he hadn't heard that other voice. He wondered if it was gone for good, or if it was simply biding it's time.

As if right on cue Sally walked into the wash room just as Patrick was finished dressing. Closning the door behind her, she walked right up to Patrick and spoke in a low voice.

"Are you alright lance-constable?"

Patrick knew it would be useless to try to lie to her completely but, maybe a little fib would get him by.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little dirty and worn out from this morning."

"I know you ver somewhere near the fire Patrick, your emotions were running too high. I trust there ver no...problems? I knew there might be."

Patrick found it hard to look her in the eyes. She was pretty enough to want to, but the feeling he got was that she wasn't looking at him, so much as reading him.

"I was there, yeah. I was out walking, looking for a cup of coffee when I smelled the smoke. By the time I saw it, flames were already shooting out the windows and doorway. To tell you the truth, I've never been a fan of fire. I saw some of the watch there organizing things and since I'm still pretty new and didn't know what to do, I figured I'd just stay out of everyone's way."

_Didn't know what to do? You sound like a moron. All you have to do is put the wet stuff on the red stuff!_

Sally never took her eyes off him.

"I'm glad you are okay. I vas sure I felt a couple of...wolves nearby also. You have to be careful. A young vampire such as yourself could be easy prey to such an animal."

She turned to leave but stopped and half looked over her shoulder at him.

"I'll be off duty tonight after ze third watch. If you like I'll show you a place that has ze best late-night food and coffee in ze whole city."

She walked out without waiting for his reply.

_Oh great. Hanging out with a vampire after dark. My mother warned me about times like this..._

Grabbing his coat he made his way to the cells.

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Being behind bars obviously made the vampire feel safer, it smirked at Jeannie as the key landed with a tinkle on the stone floor and it said

"Fetch?"

Jeannie just looked at it, not saying anything but with a certain look on her face that un-nerved the vampire. As she carried on glaring the smirk faded, and the blood sucker shifted uncomfortably

"You're not going to do anything like that again ok"  
it was spoken as a statement not a question. The vampire nodded emphatically

"I want to know everything you can tell me about this company. Meeting places, passwords, other operatives...the lot!"

As she waited for it to talk, she was aware of Patrick entering the cells

The vampire was taking too long to answer, she allowed a small growl to enter her voice

"I said, tell me about the company!"

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Patrick entered the room and heard the anger in Jeanie's voice, saw Jake standing there, ready to pounce and took in the look on the vampire's face.

Not knowing if he should say anything, Patrick stood off to the side waiting to see what would happen.

Then, as usually was the case, a small thought crept across his mind and almost went unnoticed.

"You know Sarge, it occurs to me that we might not need it's cooperation. I mean how many vampires does the company actually have here anyway? I could go out there, make a total mess out of things and all the while, those with an interest will just think I'm it."

The emphasis on the "it" made the vampire scowl, but he didn't say anything to defend himself.

"I've never done this kind of thing before you kow and I'm liable to just go out there saying all sorts of crap with his name attached to it."

Looking at Jeannie, Patrick added, "And you know what I'm thinking? I'm thinking that by this time tomorrow we'll come in and find our little buddy here nailed to the back wall and turning to ash before our eyes."

_Wow. A whole room full of 'bad cops'. this guys must be pretty confident not to.._

"Okay! Alright. I can tell you." The thing in the cell seemed to deflate a little as he spoke. In the Watch House he was uncomfortable; outside he'd just be dead.

Patrick took a seat on a stool and watched as the thing before him resigned itself to cooperating with the Watch.

Jeannie looked pleased. Jake looked disappointed. Mrs Wizzard was relieved this hadn't gone all hairy again.

"The key gets you into the house over in The Shades, near the Troll's head bar. It's pretty much empty except for one room where business is conducted...You have no idea what they are going to do to me...All you have to do is light the lamp at the front of the house and..and pull one window shutter closed. Both of those means that someone inside has a matter of business to attend to."

At this point he dropped his head and looked at the floor.

"There is no password. Only one other has the key. When the door opens it will be Hammersmith."

Patrick had to know...

"Does he know what you look like? You said earlier that you had spoken to him before."

"No. I only communicated with him by courier. The last thing I told him was that I'd be in town and that I would contact him as soon as I needed some information."

Patrick looked to Jeannie.

"What do you think?"

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Mrs. Wizzard stood back and watched the scene. She was about as far away from a proper watch officer as you could get. For one thing, she'd be a very bad cop. Not bad as she wouldn't be doing her job well, but bad as in she'd be ready to injure anyone who didn't cooperate.

As she listened to the conversation between Patrick, Jeannie, Jake, and the vampire, she absently snapped her fingers, trying to spark them like a cigarette lighter. She wasn't doing it for any particular reason, but she just _happened_ to realise that the thought of being burned on the spot could make the vampire a bit more cooperative if he proved to be otherwise

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"I think that is all we need to know...for now" She said giving the vampire another glare, just because she liked the effect it had

Beckoning for her friends to join her she walked over to the main doorway

Once everyone had walked over, she spoke in a low voice "Well done Patrick, I think we know all we need to at the moment. So if the light is on and the shutter closed then it's a signal? So the house must be watched constantly, or at least very regularly. We are going to need to bear that in mind when setting this up."

She yawned and stretched "Ugh, I need a coffee. I suggest we go to the canteen and sort out our strategy over a nice big dose of caffiene"

Jeannie walked up the stairs, hearing the footsteps of her friends behind her

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As he walked with the group towards the canteen Patrick tried to figure out a way to get everybody in position without raising too much suspicion.

Once at the table he looked towards Mrs Wizzard.

"I don't think I properly thanked you earlier for your help this morning. That was some good work down in that basement. Without your help, we never would have rescued Jake."

Sitting back in the chair he looked toward Jeannie.

"Any chance at all of getting some more bodies on this? Just in case we need back-up? I was wondering if there was a regular patrol nearby that street that we could kind of borrow if need be."

He wasn't expecting to hear a yes to that. This was Watch business, but it was also...personal. The fewer coppers involved, the less there would be to explain to Vimes if anything went sideways again.

"If we can get into the area early and blend in then there's a possibility that we won't be noticed all coming in together. if the house is being watched, I'm hoping it's just someone from the Troll's Head and not the entire street."

_If Chrys has the place under surveillance the whole thing could be blown. He won't show and then the whole company will know we're onto them._

The other thought that was nagging him was that he had never really dealt with dwarves before. His action in the regiment had been limited to human opponents. He knew they were hardy little buggers. What did you use against a dwarf if he decided to become unfriendly? Patrick was hoping that he wouldn't be alone in the house with Hammersmith.

_Vampire or not, I don't need the trouble._

Looking at Jake, he said, 'I could use a bit of back up in there."

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Jeannie took a long gulp of the lukewarm coffe that was the usual canteen fare, it tasted like muck but certainly helped to wake her up a bit.

"Yep, we are going to need more bodies in on this, but who they are and where we put them is going to be crucial in planning this whole thing."

Draining her cup, she got up and refilled it, taking a sip she looked around the room before joining her friends again.No dwarf officers were in there at the moment, ever since Gigios clacks message she found herself mistrusting of any of them

"You're right Patrick, we need to do this as undercover as possible. I think that various members arriving at different times could be a worthwhile tactic in this case,all in plain clothes, all just going about normal everyday stuff...until we need them."

When Patrick asked Jake for his back-up Jeannie nearly choked on her drink. Jake looked equally surprised.  
In the silence that ensued, Jeannie took the chance to add

"I'll be in there aswell, I want to hear everything that happens. Don't worry, I'll be well hidden. He won't know I'm there...until I arrest him

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"I think I should hide somewhere outside the house just in case I need to use magic for anything. I'll wear plain clothes, looking like a wizard in the shades would probaly raise suspicion."

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"Good idea Mrs Wizzard. There are also a few watchmen who I'd like to get in on it...just incase it all goes runny. We don't know how many operatives there are or where they will be, so the more back up we have the better"

Jeannie looked at her now cold coffee and tried to calm her racing heart, this whole thing was extremely personal for her. Arresting an old friend who had apparently given the orders that had hurt her friends and put them in danger was not a task to be relished, but she would do it...she had to be the one who nabbed him.

Some of the sadness from earlier came back to her but it was accompanied by memories of Patricks unwilling transformation, of Mrs Wizaard near to collasping in the burning house, of Jake being skewered with that silver bolt and of seeing him last night in those chains and that awful muzzle.

The sadness was still there but the anger those memories brought with them began to drown it out.

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"Well, if you have some officers in mind that's good, because besides you and Sally I don't know anyone."

Patrick tried to figure out a time-line.

"We don't know how long it's going to take for Chrys to show after I set up the lamp and shutter. Any other people we bring in will have to be free from other duties for awhile so that nobody comes looking for them."

"I like the idea of Mrs Wizzard being outside where she can see what's going on. She could be the ace up our sleeve. Maybe we could arrange something to alert her of trouble inside."

Patrick just wanted this to go a little more smoothly than the last plan. No more bonfires.

"Oh, now that I think of it...How exactly do you defend against an enraged dwarf? I hear they go all weapony at about knee cap height."

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"Don't worry about the back up, there are a few officers here who have transferd here from Uberwald, I know most of them and they know me. I'll ask around and find out how many are available this morning, hopefully we can catch a few who are just about to go off duty. They'll help if I ask them, a few of them owe me a favour"

Jeannie sat back and thought out loud

"hmmm, a signal for Mrs Wizzard? A firework maybe?" she said grinning. "No? ok then. Well, if it does go bad then Chrys will know I'm there so how about a howl? It's not something that could happen by accident and she will definitly hear it, plus if me and Jake are both in there then there will be two of us who are able to give the signal"

Jeannie pushed her cup away, and leant her elbows on the table

"How to deal with an enraged dwarf? Chrys is a very good fighter aslong as he has his axe, but he is completely pants at bareknuckle fighting. Your reflexes should be much quicker by now, dodge the attacks, knock his weapon away and you'll be fine."

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"With Mrs Wizzard and the others surrounding us outside and you and Jake inside with me, I guess we'll be alright. I'll feel better once we get him out of The Shades and into a Watch House. We might need a wagon close by. Could be difficult to walk him outta there."

"If this is going to be an arrest, I assume that at some point the Commander will see a report. I might be able to pull this off if Hammersmith hasn't seen our friend before...but what exactly do you need from him before you nab him? This has to stick the first time. We can't leave a chance that he'll be able get back out later today on a technicality."

Patrick knew he could get in over his head quickly.

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Broc chased after the thief over the rooftops. He could feel his stiching coming apart

"great" he muttered

He saw the thief dive into a canteen, Broc dived with him, felt his right leg fall off, tackeled the theif, put him in head lock and looked up in to the faces of the crowd in the canteen.

He raised his hand in greeting, which choose the wrong time to fall off.

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Jeannie watched the zombie carry out his arrest with a look of amusement on her face and refrained from asking if he 'needed a hand'.

"Hello lance-corporal, one for the cells I see"

she looked the the breathless thief

"What on earth possessed you to try and make a getaway into a watchmans canteen?"

"lance corporal, if you are available this morning we could use some extra hands...I mean help with something. If you are interested then report back here after you have taken the miscreant down to the cells ok?"

She turned back to Patrick

"Vimes seeing a report is a minimal risk, have you ever seen the state of his office? However I'm not going to go behind his back with this one, I'll give him a brief report before we leave. As for what I want from Chrys, I already have a few things. Just get him to reveal whatever you can...the imporatant thing is that he ends up in those cells. I can already arrest him on a charge of being an Accessory to a Kidnapping ,he was going to sell Jake to the company last night. Anything else you can find out will be a huge bonus"

She rubbed her face and sighed, this was going to be very emotionally draining, she was glad her friends would be doing it with her.

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Broc nodded to the request for help, handed off the thief to other watchmen, who was muttering things about "how the hell was i to know it was a watchmans canteen when i got a bloody zombie chasing me!"

"sure thing i can help, just let me stitch myself togather and-" he paused midsentence to swipe his hand from under the impending foot of a troll officer  
"- should i be prepard for action, 'cause i can always bring extra string."

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Patrick was more than just a little startled at the entrance of the zombie officer and his prisoner. Seeing that Jeannie seemed to take it all instride, he relaxed a bit.

It was a bit strange to see the officer in front of him, but not feel...anything. No life force.

_They've got a pretty eclectic watch here don't they?_

"Alright. I'll see if I can get Chrys to talk. I'm hoping I can fool him long enough for you to nab him."

Looking at the group, Patrick excused himself and began to head out of the Watch House. Jeannie had to gather the other officers and give Vimes the heads up. Patrick decided that if he was going to meet Chrys, it would have to be dressed in something other than the smokey, sweaty and wrinkled mess he was in now.

_I'll get some clothes real quick. Stuff off the shelf. Should get my coat cleaned as well, but that can wait. By the time I'm done the group should be ready to move._

Walking out into the morning stench of the city, he looked up into the clear sky and wondered how long he'd be able to enjoy these days. Sooner or later he'd be stuck coming out only at night and sleeping in a box.

_NO! I refuse to sleep in one of those things. Not right. Not...natural_

Finding the closest clothiers to the Watch House, he entered and began to browse. Not being one to enjoy shopping all that much, he quickly found something to his liking and haggled with the shopkeeper.

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Mrs. Wizzard watched Patrick go. If they were going soon, she'd need to find something to wear that made her look like a normal person, so she could hide out without raising suspicion.

Getting up from the table, she excused herself and walked down the hall to her room in the Watch House.

Closing the door behind her, Mrs. Wizzard spied the old wooden chest in the corner of the room. Kneeling down, she opened it to find the clothes left behind by people who had used the room before her. Surely there was something suitable in here. She began to rummage through the clothes...

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With Broc stitching himself up, Patrick heading out for a while and Mrs Wizzard going, Jeannie turned to Jake. She tried to give him a smile but her heart felt heavy from anticiaption of the task ahead

"I have to sort a few things out. We'll all meet back here in a while ok?"

She stood up from the table and went to brief Vimes on the plan before gathering some officers

She walked up the increasingly familiar stairs and knocked on the door, Vimes gruff reply was her cue to enter.

Once inside she approached his desk and saluted, he gave her a casual glance

"Yes Jeannie, what can I do for you?"

Jeannie came straight to the point, she was to tired for messing around

"The vampire in the cells has givens us details of one of the operatives in the Company and an address of where to intercept him. I'd like your permission to put a squad together to apprehend him sir"

"Why a squad?"

"Because the address may be being watched by other members of the organsiation, this is our only way of getting this particular individual. I believe he is the messenger between the Company and the employees, and he certainly knows whats happening in the dwarf community. We need to bring him in today sir"

Vimes could sense the urgency in her voice, she hoped that was all that was obvious.

He gave her a look "ok Sergeant, but try not to send too many of them down to Igor today eh?"

"Yes Sir. Any word on that code yet?"

"I had a feeling you would ask that..here."

Vimes handed her a piece of paper, Jeannie read it straight away. She nodded with a grim look on her face "...I see...thankyou sir"

She left the office and went to round up some of the more competent watch officers

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"Alrigh' sir! Very smart choice and at a fair price too. What Guild are you with sir? I have custom buttons for all of them, except of course the Seamstress Guild, but I wouldn't imagine you'd be one of them now would you sir? Unless.."

Patrick almost missed it..

"No. No, you're right. Not me. Actually I'm not with a Guild. I'm with the Watch. Newly hired."

"Oh well sir, I have some wonderful Watch buttons too! All done up nice and proper for your jacket! Commander Vimes wouldn't mind at all; beautiful silver buttons on your black coat sir. A very nice addition."

Patrick indicated that, no, the silver buttons wouldn't be necessary. He didn't want any accidents with anyone else and figured it would now be impossible for him to button his own clothing with those on.

"I'll just take everything as is if you don't mind."

Leaving the shop with the bundle under his arm, Patrick turned and headed back towards the Watch House. Stopping briefly at a stall on the sidewalk he made one more pruchase before continuing.

As he walked up to the front desk the officer on duty looked up and into a bouquet of flowers.

"Corporal, if you don't mind, could you please make sure that Sally gets these when she comes in? I'd appreciate it. Thank you."

Oblivious to the stares from the few officers gathered around the lobby, he continued to the locker room to change for todays mission.

"Hello lance - constable."

Patrick turned to see the small rat like officer standing before him.

"You're the new copper, eh? Well then, today is your lucky day. Glad to meet me you are! Corporal Nobbs at you service. Anything you need, I'm your man. In fact, being new to the Watch I don't suppose you've got a locker yet have you?"

Patrick hadn't managed to get his mind around the word 'man' being used to describe the ...officer standing there, but managed a "no" in response to the question.

"Oh well then, let me tell you all about today's offer. All new lance-constables get 2 dollars off the first months rent of a new, hardly used ever, locker. The piddly price of 5 dollars gets you a locker, with all three walls intact, a real working door and a fairly secure lock. Today only mind you, 5 dollars."

Patrick knew a scam artist when he met one. Guys like this followed the regimental camps along the frontier lands and always found the new troops to bother. He'd been one of the new troops once.

"No, Nobby. I'll be taking a locker for myself, without payment." For a brief second he let his eyes spark the dull red color of anger; a warning. "In fact. I'd be ever so grateful if you'd personaly make sure that no harm comes to my belongings."

The color had drained from Nobby's face momentarily.

"Oh, I see. You're one of...them. cough No problem..er...lance-constable! Not at all. In fact, I'll..."

"Thank you Nobby! I'll be needing some privacy now."

Patrick chuckled to himself as the corporal left the room, never turning his back the entire time.

_I know that was wrong. but if I can't use this to my advantage, what's the use?_

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Jeannie was making her way around the watch house talking to carefully selected officers, passing the locker room she heard Patricks voice and..Nobby? She grinned. This could be interesting, she doubted if Patrick would fall for it. She looked through the partially open door, and had to restrain a chuckle at seeing how Patrick dealt with the insidious being that was Nobby Nobbs.  
Well well, so he was getting used to his new skills? not a bad thing, it meant he would be increasing his control over them too.

Quietly walking away she went to find the last couple of officers on her mental checklist. She also needed to dwell on the contents of that message...

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Dressed and ready for the rest of today, Patrick walked out into the hall and turned toward the cells.

He was prepared to see the thing one last time before they left for The Shades.

Walking up to the door he looked at he officer on duty and said simply, "I need to talk to the prisoner."

This officer must not have been on duty yesterday because he readily opened the door and stepped aside. Walking into the room, Patrick saw the vampire sitting on the small bench. He looked up and made eye contact with Patrick but seemed to have lost the confidence he showed earlier.

"I see you've become comfortable in that cell. It suits you. I've been wondering though; how long can you go without a little...drink? The pull must be strong and you must be very weak by now."

The thing looked up.

"What makes you so sure I'm weak?"

"Well, I'm new to all this myself, but I've heard stories all my life. Things told to children at night to keep them in bed, tales told to soldiers to keep themn awake on guard duty...For instance, why haven't you changed yourself into some small creature, like a rat or something. You could be out of that cell easily."

Searching the face of the beast he thought for a second...

"So either you are too weak to do so, or you realized that you are indeed safe here in that cell. Safe from most _people_ that is. That brings another thought to mind. You must be the only vampire the company sent. If there was another, he'd most certainly have been sent to kill you by now and those bars wouldn't stop him. At least in there, your would be killer would have to get past a building full of Watch officers first."

Seconds ticked by and almost a full minute was gone before the vampire spoke.

"I'm the only one. Here at least. And yes, I am safer in here."

Patrick asked without expecting an answer, "Anything else we need to know today before we go to The Shades?"

"Only this. One of us will probably be dead before tonight is through."

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Broc put the final touchs on his stitching. He yawned out of habit and his jaw fell off.

" 'ods i 'ate 'ien a 'om-ie"

As he re-stitched his jaw back he thought about what he was going along with. He was supposed to go "Plain Clothes" but the only other set of clothes was the black somber suit he wore to Reg Shoe's "Dead Rights" meetings. well it would have to do.

when he got done he went down to the cells to make sure the thief had made it down there. hearing mutterd voices he looked and saw Patrick talking to a cellmate. When he saw Patrick looked pale he silently walked up behind him and said  
"Everything all right?"

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Having gathered the officers she trusted enough to have on this operation and directing them to meet in one of the offices in an hours time, Jeannie walked slowly back to the canteen.

The decoded message was troubling her, although maybe the worst part was that it hadn't surprised her. It had certainly cleared up many of her questions...

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Mrs. Wizzard looked herself up and down in the full length mirror. She couldn't believe that was was her own reflection staring back. She looked so..different. It had been a very long time since she'd seen herself in something other than robes and a wizard hat (which had been tossed onto the bed)

Now, she was wearing the green dress she had found in the chest. It fit pretty well. On her feet were matching green shoes. Actual shoes. It felt odd not wearing her usual boots. No one would think her to be a wizard, looking like this.

After a last minute thought, Mrs. Wizzard had tied her hair back in a bun. It felt all too weird not wearing her pointy hat. All in all, Mrs. Wizzard didn't look half bad, but she almost felt embarassed to let people see her like this. Oh well, she was just going to have to get used to it.

She actually almost laughed at how different she looked, and left her room to find her friends.

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Patrick turned to look at the zombie, "Alright here. Broc, isn't it? I'm horrible with names. Let's go find Sarge and see what else is cooking."

_Well, the Turtle Moves, doesn't it? Three days ago I was in a coach on my way to make a living in 'the big city' and now..._

Walking down the hallway he quickly spotted Jeannie on her way to the canteen. He was about to call to her when out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of...green.

_Nice...hey! Is that..?_

"Mrs. Wizzard? Well, don't you look...nice! I like it. A change from the norm maybe?"

He walked along with Broc and Mrs. Wizzard into the canteen and immediately saw the concerned look on Jeannie's face.

"What's up Jeannie? Anything helpful?"

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re-joining Jake at the table Jeannie was aware of the others returning. If it wasn't for the familiar scent she wouldn't have recognised Mrs Wizzard. She gave a solemn nod in asnwer to Patricks question.

"There's been some news. The coded message has been cracked.This was sent from Uberwald to Sto Lat just before the brothers attacks in Ankh Morpork"

She pushed the piece of paper into the center of the table, it read:

HAMMERSMITH READY TO MOVE-HAS HANDED OVER GRAGS-DWARFS SENDING OIL-WILL KEEP THE GRAGS SAFE-DWARVES WILL COOPERATE AS LONG AS GRAGS ARE ALIVE-THE COMPANY WILL TAKE CARE OF SHIPMENT-BROTHERS TO INFILTRATE ASSASSINS

Jeannie waited until her friends had read it before continuing to speak

"From the sound of it the Company has kidnapped some of the Grags from the Dwarves. They are using them to blackmail the dwarves into shipping their mining oil to the company. It sounds like Chrys is the main messenger for the company, and it sounds like he's betrayed his own people aswell as his frien..."

She stopped, a sergeant getting personal just before a mission was not going to help anything,She had to keep her mind on her job. Clearing her throat she carried on

"I don't like the idea of this Company getting their hands on this oil, that stuff is used for mining, its very powerful. And this message again raises the question, what were the brothers doing in the Assassins guild when they abdcuted Mrs Wizzard?"

She looked at Patrick, "Well, this just gets deeper and deeper and a hell of a lot more complicated with every step huh? You ready for this operation?"

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Patrick wasn't sure what to say, but said, "No," anyway.

"But I don't see as we have any choice, huh? What do think they want oil for? Besides being used for regular mining purposes, do you think they'd use it against...people? As a weapon?"

This Hammersmith fellow was looking to be more than just a pain in the neck. This was about to get serious.

"We'd probably better get set up before any more good news arrives. Do you want me to head out first, or should I wait to give you all time? We have some daylight left but I'd feel better just doing something."

Patrick tried to make a list of everything to find out from Chrys.

_Top priority now is to find out what the oil is going to be used for or at least who's accepting it on the other end. Then I need to know why Jake was about to be sold off the other night. Could probably try to figure out who in town is directly associated with the company and maybe ...Oh hell, I'll be lucky if I don't scew up the first second of this meeting._

"It's at times like this that I really wish I had listened to what my mother had always used to say."

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Broc just slowly shook his head as the message was read. Heard what Patrick said and couldnt blame him. Well this is why Broc had moved Ankh-Morpork, life was never dull.

He thought about the night he had died. Heh that Assassin was surprised when the guard of the assassins target had gotten back up and thrown him through a wall. And did he hate Assassins, they'd taken him away from- no he didnt want to think about that, stay with the present.

Broc raised his hand to ask a question and asked

" Are we expecting some kind of guard to be with Chrys?"

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Mrs. Wizzard turned to Broc.

"I don't think he feels he needs one, but I wouldn't put it past him"

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Hello all, the man (dats me) is back!  
And Im gonna torture you some more by demanding a resumee! I crave a resumee!

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The Priest dreamed. He dreamt of evil, betrayal and corruption  
((you cant have a proper mystic dream (or a movie trailer) whitout evil, betrayal and corruption)),  
of pointy ears, of a boiling pot of molten sulphur, of werewolves, bloody knives chasing him and Barrucaddu through a field of lobsters and of ... him.  
The Priest woke up, rising from a lying position in a matter of miliseconds  
((in case that word doesent exist, i hope you get my drift. ))  
He had just seen _his_ face once in his dream, but it was enough to bring up ancient, forgotten memories.  
He hurried to a mirror and looked at his face.  
_Yes, there certainly are signs. But Ive never noticed them before. Ive never looked at myself this way._  
Whitout washing or cleaning he ran out on the street.  
_Where to now? Oh, its obvious really._  
He wanted to cross the street towards the Watch house, when a tinkle coming from an alley behind him attracted his attention.  
A tinkle as if of broken pottery.

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"We're meeting the people I've chosen in a short while in one of the offices. We'll go through everything then. Before we go though..."

Jeannie shudderd at the thought of that oil being used as a weapon, she had seen a dwarf once who had been badly hurt after an accident with the stuff, what was left of his body had been completley cooked, The stuff clung to burning flesh and water couldn't quench the flames

She shared this story with her friends so they would understand the danger of the material. In the stunned silence that followed a thought occured to Jeannie

"So Patrick, what _did_ your mother used to say?"

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He turned around and saw a bundle of clothes, next to a sack, out of which pieces of broken pottery showed.  
Before he could do anything, the bundle started to move. Instinctively, the priest reached for a scent-bomb. And good riddance too, because a wolf emerged out of the bundle, trying to untangle itself.  
The priest froze in terror, but threw the scent-bomb right into the wolfs face, when it crouched to lunge at him, causing it to snort and shake its head in confusement. This gave him enough time to dart towards the watch house.  
_First wolves hunting me due to my paranoia, then elves, then real wolves hunting me. What is the world coming to?_  
By coincidence he stumbled right into the room where his friends were, falling unto the ground, silver dagger in his hand. Well, he was more or less safe now, so he might as well do it again. He fainted.

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Mrs. Wizzard looked from the priest to her friends.

"Honestly people, has this guy ever had five minutes fo conciousness?"

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Jeannie watched the priest stmble through the doors and collapse again

"Well at least he's not frothing at the mouth this time"

She went to pick him up and recoiled at the sight of the silver knife in his hand. With the memories of her sisters stabbing ravaging her brain she said weakly

"Um, Mrs Wizzard? Patrick? Broc? would one of you mind getting this guy off the floor"

_Man, it's no wonder werewolves can be unstable..._

She thought as she sat back down.

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Broc stared at the priest on the floor.

"wow, this day just gets wierder and wierder, well hopfuly there wont be guards cause i like this suit, and its bloody expensive to fix. Well im ready whenever you guys are"

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Patrick had been in the middle of answering jeannie's question with, 'I don't know. I never listened,' when the Priest ran into the canteen.

Not too keen on grabbing the Priest in his current state he politley asked if anyone could please go get a fire-hose and a bar of soap.

"I'm not prepared to put up with his smell all night long."

Kicking the dagger over to Mrs Wizzard he asked her to please hide it for abit. This Priest was a danger to himself at the best of times; adding a dagger to the mix was asking for too much.

The sudden entrance of the Priest had caught the attention of several officers and they stood just outside the door watching the scene from a safe distance. Looking up, Patrick saw Sally and walked over to where she was standing.

In his best copper imitation he said, 'Alright you lot, nothin' to see hear. Move along, move along.' He was surprised to see several of the officers do just that.

Sally said, 'I got the flowers. Zey ver...nice. Thank you.'

Trying to avoid any awkward silences, Patrick quickly piped in with, 'I just wanted to say thank you for your help yesterday. You did an excellent job. I hate to think of what could have happened."

Seeing that Sally was again becoming interested in the scene unfolding behind him, Patrick added, 'We're just getting ready for a job later. The Priest turned up unexpectedly, but we know him.'

Her expression didn't change at all. 'Vell, be careful. You have chosen a - distinct bunch of friends. Just be sure you take measures.' With that she turned and slowly walked back down the hallway.

Perplexed, he turned back to the group and tried to hold his breath.

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Jeanie couldn't help but overhear Sallys parting comment

_Take measures? who does she think she is! The stuck up, arrogant..._

breathing was becoming a problem, the priests newly acquired aroma was choking her. She stood up and moved away, with her arm held over her face she managed to gesture enough for two constables to pick him up

"Take him to the showers and hose him down ok?" She managed the muffled order through her shirt sleeve

They nodded and took him away, within a few minute he was brought back, still unconscious and soaking wet but not longer an offence to anyones nasal capability.

She thanked the constables, and looked around at her friends.

"Well, I think it's about time we began the briefing." walking out of the canteen toward the office her mind was trying to digest the newest pieces of information, she walked in silence

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Following Jeannie out of the canteen, Patrick thought about what Sally had said.

_Take measures? She really doesn't like this lot does she? _

Patrick wondered how deep the feelings ran. How far back did the mistrust run? Was it really hatred or something else? he felt it was unfair to be automatically thought of as a beast because of something that couldn't be helped.

_It's not like there are lines of people out there waiting to be turned...are there? Nah._

He hoped he could remain friends with all of them, no matter what happened. He liked all of them. He had to admit he even kind of liked Jake. He almost felt sorry for him. Sally would be a different matter altogether though. Right now Patrick needed her to keep him - together.

Hopefully there wouldn't be a time when he'd have to choose sides.

Walking into the office he tried to concentrate on what would happen next.

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Mrs. Wizzard looked down at the dagger Patrick had asked her to hide. After some thought, she slipped it into the front pocket on her dress.

When she looked up, she realized she was now alone in the room. Except for the priest who was still on the floor. When she picked him up she realized that he was somehow lighter when he was clean.

_Why is that...Nevermind, I don't want to know_

Hurriedly, she followed after her friends.

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The office was a fairly big room and most of the selected officers were already in there. At the very front the was a blackboard on an easel. Jeannie walked up to this, picked up the chalk and drew a basic map of the area they were going to and the house based on what she had seen the night before.

She turned back to look at the room full of faces, time to lock away her personal feelings. this was watch business now. her face became harder, her voice firmer and more authoritive

"Good, you're all in plain clothes. Ok people, our target this morning is a dwarf known as Chrys Hammersmith. He is believed to be a rather influential part of a criminal organization know only as The Company. Each of you will have an assigned role and the end result will hopefully be the dwarf safely locked on our cells along with his friends who are already down there.

Lance-constable Patrick is going to be the 'contact' that the dwarf is expecting to meet, he will wait inside this house which is in the area of the Shades near the Trolls Head pub"  
She gestured towards the drawing  
"I'll be inside aswell for back up if things go wrong and to hopefully arrest the dwarf before he can get back outside and alert his 'friends'."

She walked along the width of the room looking at officers in turn as she spoke

"Now, we know the place is watched or the signal that the contact uses wouldn't be seen. We need to be aware of this at all times, anything that gives us away could make things go very runny for those of who are close to the action. We will all arrive at different times, apparently engaged in nothing more than normal everyday activity. Patrick will enter the house using the key he has been given, I will enter undercover via the back route. There are plenty of alleys for me to use so my approach won't be noticed. It's the front of the house they will be paying attention to"

She briefed each officer on their role and position, and on what do do if the signal was heard. These were officers she trusted and were all good at their job. She had worked with most of them before they transferred to the city and those she hadn't were known to her by reputation as sound officers. As they filed out to begin setting up the operation there was just the friends left in the office.

"Ok then, Jake you and me will get into the house at the back. Mrs Wizzard and Broc, your positions will be close to the house so you can hear the signal if we need to give it. Patrick..."

She hesitated, watch business or not these were still her friends. She felt anxious about having them in on this

"..be careful ok?That goes for all of you. You've got the key?" she said looking back at Patrick, he nodded "OK, lets do this then"

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Patrick walked out of the room and headed for the front door of the Watch House. He felt better after seeing all of the officers that would be involved in the operation; knowing that Jeannie had hand picked them was a big plus.

They all made sure that either they left by separate doors or left at staggered times so as not to raise any interest.

After crossing the bridge, he decided to grab something from one of the little shops along the way, just in case he'd be in the house for longer than expected. Satisfied with his purchase, he tucked the bag under his arm and continued on his way to The Shades.

_This could be an interesting city to explore. _

Finding himself following the route to The Shades that Jeannie had given him, he marvelled at the stories he had whispered around the Watch House. Commander Vimes was always the subject of such hushed conversations. Patrick had heard that the man could tell where he was in the city just by the feel of the road beneath his feet.

Well, he wasn't Commander Vimes; he was going to need a map for the first few weeks at least. Unless he could fly...

_Yeah, that's right. Aren't vampires supposed to be able to turn themselves into bats and things? I wonder what I could do._

He toyed with the idea of being some enormous bird of prey taking flight over the city. He could...

_Nah. With my luck I'll end up turning into a swarm of mosquitoes or something. Probably get swatted._

A few minutes later he found himself walking down Sweetheart Lane. A sign nailed to a post pointed down an alley indicating the Troll's Head. Getting his bearings, he found the house and calmly walked up to the front door.

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The Priest woke up.  
_Well, well, some friends they are._  
He wandered through the watchhouse, looking for them, nonetheless, but found the chalk board.  
_Oooh, forbidden chalkboard... Trolls head, eh?_  
After a few questions asked in the name of Barrucaddu, the priest understood that this was the assignment of his friends.  
At the door of the Watch House, he stopped, peering into the dark alley. There was some pottery left, but he didnt dare pick it up and ran like hell towards the trolls head instead.  
He bumped into a young lady by accident, in spite of the fact that she was alone on the street.  
He mumbled an excuse and turned to run off, but a hand grabbed him by the shoulder.  
'Argh! Die, spawn of hell!'  
A holy water bottle appeared out of his sleeve magically and he sprinkled madly.  
_Thats for vampires, idiot._  
He stopped and recognised the familiar Mrs Wizz, when the familiar threatening expression appeared, surrounded by octarine fire.  
'Follow me quickly.' she ordered.  
He did so, and on theire way he said:  
'By the way, a werewolf attacked me, I dont see how this might interest you in any way, seeing as you dont care about your best priest friend any more.

He shniefed theatrically.  
_Well, how should I put this to her? Incidentally, Im a... no. By the way, I ,_

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Jeanie and Jake left the watch house and took an erratic route via backstreets and alleys towards the house in the shades. Jeannie kept her senses on high alert just in case the Company had sent any more spy's. She couldn't sense anything so it seemed they were undetected as they approached the Shades. They soon arrived in the dark alley that ran behind the house they were heading for.

They crept along, until they found a suitable window. It was badly fitted and a short sharp tug soon had it open.Jeannie pulled herself through and landed noiselessly inside, Jake followed and they looked around for suitable places to conceal themselves. The house had that musty damp smell that unused rooms developed and from the look of it only one room was regularly used. It had some sparse furnishing, a few chairs and a table in the corner and a badly hung pair of curtains. Jeannie assumed this was the meeting room however there was nowhere to conceal either one of them in here so they took up hiding places in the two adjacent rooms. Jeannie heard the key in the lock as Patrick entered

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Entering the house, Patrick noticed the smell first; the dust and grime would come later.

_These guys have to get a better meeting place._

Walking over to the table he put his bag down and tried to find somewhere to hang his coat. Deciding he didn't want to end up taking home any pets from this place he kept it on.

_Well, let me try something..._

Settling down in one of the chairs he went as quiet he could and let his miind wander. There, in the walls, he felt the rats; under the floor was a cat or two...and yes, they were here already. In the next room he could sense the hearbeats of two adults. But as he could come to expect, theirs were different. Human, but with that something extra.

He almost expected to see half the Watch standing outside as he moved to the window, but was surprised that all outside seemed normal.

_These guys are good._

Reaching to pull the shutter closed he thought he caught a glimpse of a shadow moving across the street. Deciding it was just his nerves he closed it and moved to the door.

_Oh damn. How am I supposed to light the lamp without matches?_

He prided himself on not smoking; most of the soldiers in his regiment smoked simply out of boredom. He had always found something to do.

As he got closer to the door, he spied a small box of matches resting on the top of the door frame. Reaching up, he took one out and strikng it, opened the door to light the lamp.

Again, the shadow across the street.

It was only late afternoon, but the buildings here were already casting long shadows as the sun disappeared behind them. He figured in another hour or so it would be dark enough...

As Patrick turned back into the room he grabbed the bag off the table and sat down to enjoy his snack


	7. Chapter 7

Jeanie went to sit down on the grimy floor then decided against it. Instead she leant against the wall and waited. She listened as Patrick lit the lamp and wondered how long it would be before she would hear Chrys's key in the lock...

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As they ran along Mrs. Wizzard heard the priest's comment.

"Of course, I care, priest," she said. " I left you in a dignified position on a chair. You wouldn't wake up when I shook you and I couldn't carry you all the way, so my options were pretty limited."

They arrived and saw the house. Quickly, Mrs. Wizzard pulled the priest into a nearby alley. It was light enough to see out from the inside, but too dark to see from the outside in.

"We have to keep hidden in here until they need us," she whispered. "There are other officers hidden all around here."

She finished the statement and there was silence. In the darkness, Mrs. Wizzard could hear the priest occasionally shuffle his feet, like he was tense about something.

"Are you allright, priest?"

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Perhaps it was because he was tired, Jake wasn't sure, but for some reason the day seemed to be moving very fast and his mind didn't seem to be doing as good a job. There had been in the interogation, the planning and the collapsing priest, that was fairly distinct as the smell had once again been too much for him and his nose had shut down for at least thirty minutes. Now he was squatting next to one of the few werewolves who had not assumed him to be a ocmplete waste of space form the start, waiting for an X-friend of hers to turn up.

The key in thel ock and the hairs on the back of his neck told him that Patrick had entered and was walking around in the next room, no doubt the bloo- Patrick could hear their heartbeats. There was the slosh of oil and the striking of a match before the flare and slow burn of a lamp reached him. He supposed that all they could all do now was to hold their breaths and wait for something to happen.

"I'm sorry."

He heard himself whisper, he wasn't sure why, perhaps it was for the inconvenience he had cuased, or htw way his attitude had endangered her friends or perhaps because he knew that they were about to face one of the people that she had trusted so long ago. It seemed inadequate, but at the moment there wasn't a great deal that he could do.

In the dim gloom that managed to permeate the small hovel he could see that Jeannie was looking at him and she seemed about to reply, but the sound reached them first and they both tensed. The knock was low but insistent and it coudl not be confused with a mistaken bang against the door, those sorts of knocks meant there was someone outside adn they very much wanted to be inside, but they didn't want many people to know that htey wanted to get in. Jake realised he had held his breath and slowly released it, wondering of the sound of his heart could be heard in the next room, it seemed pretty loud to him and somehow he knew that the wolf had its ears pricked to

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Patrick had just finished the sandwich when the knock came. His adrenaline kicked in and his demeanor changed altogether.

_Time to go to work...let's see if this works._

Standing up, he slowly walked to the door.

_I thought the vampire said Chrys would have a key?...How many other people would know about this place?_

Resigning himself to opening the door, Patrick turned the knob

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The knock made her heart race and like Jake, she realised she was holding her breath...this was it.

Despite her anxiety about involving her friends in this she was glad Jake was here. He had been her only source of comfort these past few hours and just knowing that he knew why this was so hard for her somehow made it more bearable.

She concentrated on listening, waiting to see what would develop.

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As he opened the door, patrick was pushed backward by the form hurrying to get inside.

"Hurry up man! Close the door!"

Patrick had never seen Chrys before but how many dwarves could there be needing entrance to this particular house?

He decided it was now or never.

"Hammersmith. Why the rush?"

Patrick kept his voice low, neutral, not betraying his act one bit. Seeing the dwarf in an apparently excited state, he decided to be more relaxed than ever. He had to try to remain in control of the situation.

Hammersmith didn't answer right away. He made a quick, cursory search of the room and checked to see that the window was indeed closed.

_A little nervous about something?_

Patrick crossed the room and took a seat at the table with his back to the wall. Reaching down casually he felt the reassuring forms of the daggers in the coat pocket.

"Something wrong?"

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Jeannie smelt Chrys before she heard him, as is the case with humans aswell scent is a powerful memory trigger.  
She stared at the door infront of them, poised to move as soon as she needed to. She was trembling, partly through anger, partly through tension and partly because of the emotional wave that was washing over her.

She listened, it sounded like Patrick was calm nad in control, Chrys however sounded agitated. Good, that meant Patrick was the one with the upper hand here...

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'No, nothing's ... uh ...wrong. Not as such.' answered the priest.  
He desperatley wanted to change the subject.  
'Shouldnt we be doing something? I mean, I bet this is one of your supercomplex missions, each one of us having a specific task and fulfilling it with a maximum of strictness, thus transforming us lot into an organized, effective assault force. Am I right?'

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Jake placed a hand on Jeannie sensing the well mixture of emotion, he said nothing though and maintined his gaze on closed door, adjusting ever so slightly to be more in shadows, he had never seen his eyes in human form and wondered if they glowed in the dark, he hoped not. He heard the scrape of boots and the sound of a cloak being casually disgarded.

"Something wrong? you idiot did you not hear about what happened lastn ight? the fire at the...the storage depot, I can assure you heads are going to role for that and it will not be mine. I don't know where Harriet has gotten to, that damned bounty hunter's body wasn't found in the rubble so she must be out there somewhere and she said she had caught one of those gods damned dogs. It seems the company is doing a good trade in werewolf pelts."

The dwarf went quiet as if regretting giving away that little tit bit. Shaking himself he clared at patrick as htough it were his fault for his wagging tongue.

"Anyway you're theo ne that lit the lamp. What did you want? this had better be good, I am sure that you were expected to give news sooner than this. I've heardn o reports of you dealing with the group that has been sticking their noses into our business."

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Patrick felt his blood rise at the word 'idiot', but reminded himself that this was all just an act.

"Let's work our way through some house-keeping issues shall we? _I_ was sent here to clean up _your_ little mess! _I_ have to smooth things over with our mutual friends, friends I might add that are looking at you a little more closely these days. _I_ have been tasked with reporting back to them on your capability to continue operations here. _I_ am not the idiot, sir! You have created a mess here Hammersmith and now you will tell me whatever I need to know to clean it up!"

Patrick couldn't resist, he let the dark red flash of his eyes last a split second longer than was required for the effect he wanted.

"I would hate for there to be more...difficulties."

Settling down some, Patrick felt the tension ease just a hair.

"Now Hammersmith, if we may continue; I am not going to reveal myself to you other than what is absolutley necessary. My association with certain ...others...is required if The Company is to succeed. That is all you need to know. Tell me what you know about the wolf and why was he selected specifically?"

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Jakes touch brought her out of her emotional whirlpool.Getting a hold of herself she focused on what was being said in the other room.

_Damn dogs? werewolf pelts? what the hell was wrong with him!?_

She looked at Jake, the look on his face showed he had heard it too. Thank the gods they had got him out of there last night. She fought the urge to storm in there and grab the vicious little traitor by the scruff of his neck. She could still feel Jakes hand on her, it was helping to keep her anchored and to remember the job in front of her

Just a little while longer, just to see what else he said...

She could hear Patricks reaction and was impressed, he was certainly pulling it off so far

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Indignation flickered across the face of the dwarf for a mere moment until he saw the tinge of red within the eyes of the man standing before him. Slowly he moved towards the table and gingerly leant upon it for support, seeing that it oculd take his weight he leant a little more. When the question of the werewolf came he seemed t osag slightly.

"Well, as I mentioned before the company seems to have decided to deal in werewolf pelts, it seems that they are popular in some circles. This particular wolf is a bastard child of a bad union.."

Jake's grip seemed to tighten on Jeannie's shoulder.

!I beleive his name is Valker but decided to adopt the Alias of Jake, if the rumours are correct he was an unusually vicious individual that caused a great deal of problems for members of the company, although of course the entire Von Uberwald family are not held in high regard. It just so happened that he was in the city and in the corect place at an opportune time."

Jake began to shake with anger, his entire past, that name, that title had just ben laid bare before people he wished would never EVER know that particular little detail about his life before they met.

"I understand he kept a vampire in strapped down in a very dark room and allowed holy water to drip at iregular intervals and in different places ont ohe vampire before the sun came up and, well burnt the vampire, but not enough to turn him to dust, I believe the werewolf was always very careful to amke sure they were still conscious to feel what he did to hem next."

The dwarf had obviulsy mentioned this as an after thought realising who he was speaking to and deciding to have a litle dig, perhaps to see if this vampire would flinch. 

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"Assault force?" For some reason, Mrs. Wizzard liked the sound of that. "I guess you could say that. Right now we're more of a back-up crew. If things don't go as planned in there ans Chrys gets out, I'm supposed to use my magic to stop him." She looked out into the Shades where the usual groups of not-so-nice people can always be found. "And I dressed up in normal clothes so no one would be suspicious as to why a wizard was wandering aorund in the Shades."

When silence took over again, Mrs. Wizzard looked out to the house. It sounded like someone was yelling in there. She hoped everyone was allright.

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Broc listened to the yelling and cracked his knuckles, which he could do over and over. He glanced at Mrs. Wizzard

"Nervous?"

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Listening to Chrys, Jeannie felt Jakes grip tighten on her shoulder. As she listened her eyes widened, she knew he had a darker side but this was...torture? She looked at him, felt the rage shaking him.

Her mind whirled furiously, but no matter what the dwarf said all she could go on was what she knew. Jake had left all that behind hadn't he? The person she knew...had staked a vampire in the arm and the mere mention of his true name has caused sheer terror in the creature. She had heard his threat about the wooden knife coated in holy water, but still...he had comforted her when she really needed it, he had done it again just now. He had helped her and the others, he had risked his life chasing that damn blood sucker on the roofs. Despite what she had just heard she couldn't let it cause any problems, not now. She could feel his fury

_please please don't let this get out of hand_

But he knew how important this was, surely he could gut it out for now. He wouldn't...well she didn't know what he would or wouldn't do. She just had to hope that he would stay in control. If the worst came to the worst she would just have to get in there right now and nab Chrys.  
She reached out and took hold of Jakes hand in an effort to let him know that, right now, it didn't matter. They could deal with it later. His shaking could still be felt, she carried on listening and staring at the door, waiting for her opportunity..

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Mrs. Wizzard jumped a little at the sound of Broc's voice. She hadn't heard him coming. She turned to his general area in the darkness.

"Yes, a little, but more for them."

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The Priest, startled at Brocs appearence, instinctively sprinkled some holy water into the zombies face, muttering half/heartedly:  
'The Wrath of Barrucaddu is upon thee.'  
The zombie cracked his knuckles again. The priest stopped.  
He then turned to the hostile area, ready to ... well, just ready.  
He was still shaking slightly from the new discovery he made.

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Patrick hadn't been a vampire long enough to feel any sense of brotherhood toward an anonymous beast tortured by Jake. He still refered to them as 'beasts' after all.

"Alright, so he tortured some poor creature that was careless enough to come into his grasp. However, I do find it hard to believe that he just happened to be in the right spot at the right time as you say. Somehow I get the feeling you were maybe looking to put another feather in your cap? And what of the bounty hunter Hammersmith? She is...gone? Gone where? Such a liabilty. I do fear you may have slipped up on this one."

_Okay. I'm still in control here. For a minute. Now, what about the oil?_

Slowly standing up from his chair, he lingered a bit longer besides Chrys than was needed. Standing put him at a height advantage. Psychologically it was a position of power.

"Now, do tell me about the oil. I'll also need to know where exactly the Grags are. Just a formality of course. There are a few of our friends that, shall we say, are not the trusting sort. They want a verification that all is well. No loose strings you understand."

_Okay, now I'm off into uncharted territory. All I need is a name, a place._

Walking slowly away from Chrys he measured his steps and stride as if in deep thought. Hammersmith turned in his chair.

"Oil? What do you need to know? The Company handles that mess, and -

"I've already told you Hammersmith. Certain of our mutual friends are...unhappy...with the curent situation. Think of me as an auditor. An outsider. Explain things to me as if I haven't a clue. But don't take this as a sign of weakness on my part. I have no love for wolves, the Watch or anyone for that matter, but you sir are at the very bottom of the pile right at the moment."

_Geez, maybe I should have tried out for the stage._

Keeping his back to the dwarf, Patrick waited for an answer.

"We haven't got all night."

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Squatting in the gloomy room, with a furious werewolf next to her Jeannie couldn't help but be impressed at Patricks performance. It sounded like he had Chrys fooled and no wonder, he was completely believable.

She let go of Jakes hand, praying that he wouldn't lose his temper at Chrys's revelation. Slowly standing she edged nearer to the door. As soon as Chrys gave Patrick those details she was going in there, they would have all the information they neded and anything else could be got from him in the cells.

Jake was looking volatile and she was on edge herself, things could get out of hand very quickly given those factors

She calmed her breathing, and waited

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"Believe what you want, I'm telling you what I know, as for the bounty hunter, I'm sure she will pop up again when she runs out of money."

He decided not to tell her that he had been told that her assistant had actually been bitten by the damn wolf, probably would look even worse.

"The oil is safe as are the grags, tonight there will be an explosion think of it as a demonstration and a clue as to where some of the oil was. As for the grags I believe they are safe beneath the city in one of the less frequented shafts."

As Jeannie took her hand away Jake felt a wound open, he would do this and he would leave, disappear back to Uberwald, it would be tough but that had never stopped him from doing things before. Sadness and anger at them having found out was making the wolf stir and he could feel the prickling start under his skin. 

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a subtle change in the air made her look at Jake

_oh no_

Anger always made the wolf strong and he was obviously furious at what she and Patrick now knew about him. Being a werewolf gave many heightened senses and she could tell he was feeling his wolf stir.

This was not good, she looked at him and shook her head "please?" she whisperd knowing it probably wouldn't do much good. She rememberd how out of control he had been last night, that was the last thing they need right now

She was going to have to bust in there soon, this was starting to go bad. She took a deep breath, opened the door infront of her then kicked open the door of the room where Patrick and Chrys were.

The door swung back and hit the wall with a crash...

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Patrick had been about to ask who was involved with the little demonstration tonight and where it might be, when all of a sudden the door flew open.

His back had been to the room, so at first he wasn't sure what the sound was. He turned, both daggers in his fists and just caught sight of Jake charging at Hammersmith.

Chrys barely had enough time to react, but made a move as if to draw a weapon.

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Jake, or the wolf that was Jake, charged arrowlke towards Hamersmith. It was only the wolf's seeming sixth sense that saved him from having his skull cleaved in half by a very large axe. Instead his forward momentum slammed him into the front door which bowed outwards slightly and craked ominously but remained intact, these were shades doors. Jake shook his head dazedly, many stars seeming to twinkle in his vision.

_You ruined it you litle grit sucker, you ruined the house of cards that was my life, it wasn't great but it was mine and now, you shattered it with one sentence._

He wanted to howl, so he did, it was the sort of howl that got to people on a primal level the sort of howl that said "I'm feeling angry and I'm feeling hungry and I bet I canrun faster than you." Into his howl he poured all the anger and all the grief that his past seemed to have bubbled p within him. He had gotten a werewolf friend and a group of friends, at the moment even the fact that there was a vampire amongst them didn't matter, they had been his and now AND NOW!...he lunged..

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In the chaos that erupted as soon as the door swung back Jeannie had precious seconds to assess what was happening. Her first thought was _what the...!!_ as the big black wolf that was Jake hammered past her

Her second thought was _Oh crap_ as she saw him head straight at Chrys.

She yelled at Patrick  
"Grab Hammersmith!!"  
as she threw all herself at Jake with enough momentum to grab him in mid-lunge. She couldn't let their prime suspect get torn to pieces

Her third thought was _double crap, I've just thrown myself at a livid werewolf_

she had been aware of the howl and knew that would be read as the signal, the team would be swinging into action outside

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The Priest, shattered psichologically by the new discovery from his dreams, ran into the room when he heard the howl after Mrs Wizzard, but was faster than Broc, no wonder really.  
He stopped abruptly in the middle of the room due to bumping headlong into one of the occupants.  
He raised a fist into the air and screamed:  
'I shalt smite mine enemies to be read thee with my newly acquired devastating powers of madness and jungle canopy! Bow before me and thou may just have a chance of escaping my anger!'  
He flailed with his arms in the air, fingers outstrechted and writhing as if electrified, teeth gritted and eyes widened.  
Nothing happened.  
_Well, at least you got their attention._

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Mrs. Wizzard leaned against the wall in mild boredom in the silent darkness. When she heard the howl, she changed instantly, one second leaning gainst the wall, the next running at full speed towards the house. If the other two wanted to follow that was up to them.

Slamming through the doorway, in a split second Mrs. Wizzard analyzed the scene of the wolf, Jeannie, Patrick, and the dwarf.

_That must be Chrys,_ she thought.

She summoned her staff and hit the bottom of it on the ground hard.

_"Barrier!_ she called out. A wall of blue lightning shot up between the dwarf and Jake in the middle of the room, stretchign from wall to wall. Jake couldn't get in and Chrys couldn't get out.

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As she heard Mrs Wizzard cast the spell Jeannie breathed a sigh of relief, until she realised she was still on top of Jake. She had not idea of his mental state but she couldn't just lie ontop of him indefinitely. Sudden movements were probably not a good idea so she slowly lifted her body off him and stood up hoping that his rage wasn't so consuming that she was going to get a throat full of teeth

She looked around, Chrys was behind the barrier, her friends seemed ok except for the priest who just seemed...well, slightly more bizarre than usual. She could hear the wagon arriving outside that Chrys would be taken back to the watch house in. Ok well, it didn't all go according to plan but they had nabbed him. Best to make a hasty exit in case he had any friends watching the place

Before she gave the order to clear out of here she looked at Mrs Wizzard "Thankyou, that was very quick. I owe you...again"  
She turned at Patrick  
"That was a brilliant piece of role play, well done! Let's get the rest of the information out of him back at the watch house. It sounds like we'll need to intercept this thing tonight"

She looked at the priest "Um, yes. Thanks? You were certainly a good distraction" she smiled at him _newly acquired devastating powers of madness and jungle canopy??oookay_

She could feel Chrys glaring at her through the magic shield but deliberately ignored him

"ok then, let's get this dwarf back to the cells. Excellent work everyone, especially you Patrick" she said patting him on the back. As they all left, taking Chrys wiht them and seemingly aware of the urgency needed in their exit from this area Jeannie heisitated and turned to Jake.

She was at a loss as to what to say..

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When the barrier appeared, the priest looked crestfallen. He moaned:  
'Nooo, not defensive magic! I want Necromancy and Arts Of Destruction! You drained half of my mana! I want Acid Arrow! Summon Golem! Death And Decay! Tongue Of Fire! Blast you, Spell Randomizing And Attribute Lowering Curse! Blast you Fyodor, Lord Of The Underworld, you have put this curse on me! Oooh, if only I was at Level 62!  
He then looked blank, wondering why he said that.  
He followed the others, looking more confused than was usual

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Patrick was surprised at how it had all gone down so quickly. he wasn't even sure how he ended up with the dwarf restrained.

Quickly moving to the door he didn't risk a glance towards the form of Jake. That was something he knew nothing about and wanted to keep it that way.

Outside at the carriage he saw the other officers show up in force and was glad to have the help. Chrys was beginning to struggle and patrick didn't want to have any accidents.

"Sorry Hammersmith, but I do believe this is where I am supposed to tell you...gotcha! And don't bother trying to deny any of it; there are two witnesses that heard everything and I think you might know someone waiting for us back atthe cells."

The adrenaline was wearing off now and Patrick sat down on the rear step of the coach waiting for everyone to clear the house. He had pulled it off and had great back-up all the way through.

_We need to find out about this planned explosion. We might still have time to get people to safety..._

Patrick looked to Mrs Wizzard as she came out.

"Hey green lady! Tell me; that blue wall thingy of yours...is it blast proof?"

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Broc hadnt even moved by the time the barrier was up. He walked in saw Jennie sitting on Jake, the Priest yelling some strange things and couldn't help but laugh.

"Mister Vimes would be impressed, this was the strangest arrest ive ever seen."

smiling Broc glanced at Jennie

"what next?"

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Mrs. Wizzard walked out of the building and saw Patrick. _Did he just call me green lady?_

"Um, yeah, it might be. Really it depends on how powerful the explosive is"

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Jake felt the body pressed upon him, it wasn't a particularly heavy body, but it was very insistent. He rose with little difficulty and looked at her for a second and then the octarine fire swept across his nose and the blue barrier appeared. Jake managed to grapplethe wolf under control, but he could feel his grip and it was tenuous to say the least. He wanted to be there for Jeannie wantede to help her interogate Chrys and make sure she was fine, but he knew that the arrest had been made and now was his time to disappear form the city, he would go back to the mansion and then take a coach back to Uberwald. Disappearing into hte next room he salvaged the remaining parts of his clothes and dressed. He shoved down his anger and his frustration for now and said very little other than

"Good Job Patrick, sorry about the impromptu ending."

It was said in a less than pleasent voice.

"I'm going to haqve to go and get some other clothes, I'm sure I will meet you all at the station." 

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The arrest had been made, she knew what had to come next. She had to face Chrys in the cells.  
This was going to be an ordeal. She refused to go back to the watch house on the wagon, preffering the option of walking and preparing herself for the task ahead. Saying good bye to her friends for now, along with more thanks and praise she told them she would meet them at the watch house soon.

Before Jake left she touched his shoulder and looked into his eyes. They burned with the familiar fire of his inner anger

She said softly yet firmly "I don't know who you were but I know this...You are Jake _now_ , you are among friends here"

It wasn't much but it was all that seemed appropriate to say. She turned and walked away through the Shades. She hoped he would come to the watch house later, she had a feeling today would hurt way more than it already had done.

Jeannie didn't go straight to Psuedopolis Yard. She went to her room first. Once she had washed and put on fresh clothes she felt slightly better.She left her lodgings and walked slowly towards the Yard deep in thought, steeped in memories

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Patrick had ridden on the coach back to the Watch House with a slightly agitated dwarf stewing along side of him.

Arriving back at the yard there was a sense of urgency to get Chrys safely into the cells. It wasn't said outright, but the feeling was that he might have friends that may actually attempt to set him free.

News of the coach's arrival brought the Commander down to meet the group and Patrick found himself face to face with the man himself.

"Where's your sergeant, lance-constable?"

"She's just closing up the scene now sir. The house was secured as we left and the prisoner was brought here straight away. I..uh...need to get him to the cells, sir."

Not wanting to say anymore, Patrick asked Broc to help him get Hammersmith locked up. Commander Vimes grunted an understanding and left the officers to move the prisoner.

As the trio entered the cell room, Chrys seemed not to notice the other prisoner in the adjoining cage. The guard on duty searched the dwarf for any obvious weapons and locked the door after Hammersmith sat on the small bench.

Tuning to Broc, Patrick said in a low voice, "He said something about an explosion. I don't know how, when or where this is going to happen, but maybe we should keep everyone together until Sarge gets back. She'll want to move on that as soon as the dwarf talks."

_These guys are serious. This could be a disaster if we can't get him to talk_

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Walking through the streets Jeannie came to the watch house almost without realising it was there. _Well, here goes._

She pulled herself together, straightened up and strode into the Yard. Nodding to a couple of officers she made her way inside. A brief enquiry at the desk told her that yes, Patrick and Broc had taken the prisoner downstairs.

Jeannie nodded and walked down to the cells. Patrick and Broc were still there, she was glad of that. Still purposely not looking at Chrys she greeted them, the looks on their faces reflected the seriousness of the situation. She knew she had to find out where this explosion was going to happen or innocent people were going to get very very hurt.

Summoning all her resolve she finally turned and faced her old friend. The cold look in his eyes was no surprise, it was echoed in her own.

This was no warm and fuzzy reunion, she got straight to the point.

"Where is the explosion going to happen?"

Chrys just stared back at her for a while before speaking

"If I tell you will you be the hero who goes rushing to save the day?" His voice was loaded with scorn

She didn't rise to the bait, he had had a problem with her joining the watch, this was an old row from before they lost touch.  
"No, I'll just do my job" she replied levelly  
"I'll ask again, where will it be?"

Chrys sat back "You know I could just keep you guessing and watch your face when the screaming starts"

Jeannies eyes narrowed "When did you become so twisted!?"

Chrys's smirk faded, "Me? Twisted? ME!?"

"Yes you!! Werewolf pelts Chrys? werewolf pelts!! and what about the grags Chrys? You delivered them to the Company didn't you? didn't you!?"

She scowled at him as the echo of her words faded away "You are nothing but a D'hrarak!" she spat the word at him and admittedly derived some satisfaction from the flinch in his expression

"Now listen closely, I'll say it very slowly so you understand. Where is the explsion going to be?"

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Jake walked back to the mansion, it was a fair way, but he needed the time to think. Jeannie said it didn't matter but she didn't understand, was that part of him really gone? it seemed unlikely and the evidence seemed to suggest not. He had managed to settle down for a bit in Ankh Morpork and he thought, he really thought that this would be a good place to make a life for himself, and then someone had hit him on the head and when he had woken up he had seen Jeannie.

Unconsciously his body had walked him into the house and to his room where he now sat on the bed.

"Igor"

He wasn't even sure if there was an Igor, but he thought it was a fiarly good bet.

"Yeth thir."

Of course, all the Uberwald families had them, they would have to have one to.

"Can you get my things back please and then have some food brought up. I'm going to be leaving for Uberwald."

Igor nodded and left, leaving Jake alone once again with his htoughts. He splashed water on his face and looked int ohe fragmented reflection in the bowl as it sloshed around _Do you think that running's going oto help?_ he didn't know, but it had to didn't it?

The food came, he ate the food, the plates were taken away. Things happened around him and he sat there saying nothing. Finally Igor asked him if he wanted the coach and Just as Jake was about to say yes, he stopped. He had someone who needed him, someone who was about to confront a part of their past that was painful and unpleasent and he was going to let her do it alone? Jake felt shame creep slowly ino him, at least she was brave enough to at least try and face it. What was he doing? Running from the people that had managed to find it out.

"No Igor, there is something I need to do." he quavered slightly "but, perhaps leave the bags packed for now."

Changing into yet more clothes, a good supply was always discretely replaced in the wardrobes, servants that understood their masters needs,and left the house.

He entered the watch house a short while after and moved straight for the cells. Out of nowhere an axe sailed in front of his face, without thinking Jake squated, grabbed the handle of the weapon and twisted. There was a cry of pain and the axe came away in his hand. Silence seemed to descend and Jake realised suddenly realised where he was, for a minute there he was back in the house and someone was trying to carve him up.

"Uh...Sorry, I'm a little on edge at the moment."

There was a long pause and the islence continued, he handed the dwarf back his axe who piped up immediately

"Only watch officers beyond this point sir."

Wow he really wished that Patrick, Jeannie or Broc were around right now so this crowd could stare at someone else

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As Chrys opened his mouth to say something there was a yell from upstairs. And a familiar voice, she couldn't help a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Lance-constable please go upstairs and escort our friend down. I think he's having a problem with the guards, thankyou."

She looked back at Chrys, his expression was one of confusion "D'hrarak?" he whisperd hoarsely

"Yes, you handed over your peoples most venerable figures. When the others find out it was you...well,you will be cast out. You will not be a dwarf any longer" Jeannie replied, it shamed her to admit it but she was hitting him where it hurt most and he bloody deserved it...werewolf pelts! Explosions in the city? If she had allowed herself time to dwell on it she would have been devastated at what had become of her once-closest friend.  
For now though, it was her job to get the information out of him, she kept telling herself that to block out the pain

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Mrs. Wizzard was back in her room in the Watch House while her friends were down talking with Chrys. She didn't want to bother with that dwarf right now. She had matters of her own to tend to.

Standing in front of the mirror, Mrs. Wizzard undid the tie and let her hair fall back out of the bun. As she looked at her reflection she seemed to wonder about something and changed into her robe and hat, still apparently in deep thought

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Patrick walked up the stairs to where the larger guard room was located and found Jake staring down at a very determined dwarf.

He almost wished he had an iconograph right now.

_I wonder if the officer realizes exactly who...what...Jake is?_

Walking up to the pair, making enough noise so as not to startle the officer, Patrick tried to insert himself between the pair.

"It's okay, honestly corporal. He is with me, er, us. He 's been an advisor of sorts. Sarge wants him down below to help with the prisoner."

Seeing the look on Jakes face, Patrick decided he was really going to have to try to make amends here.

"You did good today Jake! Quite a distraction!"

Walking away from the dwarf, he lowered his voice a bit, "Jeannie is talking to Chrys right now. We need to find out where this explosion is going to take place. With any luck we can start to evacuate people."

The pair continued down the stairs to the cell room

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_You did good?_ Gods all that he needed now was for patrick to pat him on the head and give him a biscuit. Jake said nothing though, he had to get along with this guy and afterall he had saved his hide, quite literally it would appear.

"Well, if I was a nasty sort of person" Jake said conspiratorily "I would ask for five minutes alone with the grit--Dwarf, a tin opener, for three each pins, not nails, a cup of Klatchian coffee, he stuff that will eat through anything and you have to hold wit hthe tongues and one of dibblers meat pies. I bet I could get the information out of him them. However the idea of attaching him to a mail coach completely naked and smackingf the horses into a gallop is also one, I must admit, which does present itself as a very attractive alternative."

Jake went silent as they entered the rooms where the cells were, he could feel the dwarf's and vampire's eyes on him but he spared them not a glance, instead loking at Jeannie. 

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Jeannie turned at the noise of footsteps and her eyes met Jakes. She couldn't hide the relief in her expression when she saw him.Giving him a small smile a noise from Chrys's cell made her look back at the dwarf. He was watching the two of them and chuckling in a nasty way, walking up to the bars he spoke again

"well well, a friend of yours Jeannie?"

She glared at the dwarf "Thats got nothing to do with you" He carried on smirking at her "Does he know what you are"

"Yes, he knows and so do my colleagues"

The dwarf spat on the floor "Then if he will take my advice he'll wash his hands of you right now! Mixing with you..you _creatures_ only ever causes pain! For everyone, even your own kind. Your little sister...If only you had kept your promise, but you didn't did you? And she died on her own, in the woods!"

Ouch! The words took her by surprise and cut deep. Just as she had done with him moments before, he had found her weak spot and was twisting the knife.  
She felt her hands bunch into fists, biting her tongue so hard she could taste the blood in her mouth she managed to answer

"Thats...got nothing to do with why you are here. I want the location."

Her eyes flashed with an orange glow, it was brief but it unnerved Chrys enough that he backed away from the bars

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Jake said nothing while the exchange took place between the dwarf and Jeannie, he merely noted, with a dark satisfaction, that the vampire in the next cell appeared to be twitching as the dwarf spoke his 'advice' to Jake. The mention of Jeannie's sister gave him pause and a very familiar memory came to him. There had been a whispered conversation, which he did not try and recall and then there had been a hunt. Their prey had been exhausted and his father had told him to stab her. Jake's mind had recoiled in disgust, a werewolf did not stab, they bit and clawed, but no werewolf stabbed with a tool other than tooth or claw. Jake wished it had been for nobler reasons than that, he would have gladlykillled their prey but he had balked at the method of its doing and the girl had died anyway.

Doing his best to clear his mind he placed a hand on Jeannie's shoulder and walked towards the cell with Chrys inside of it. Closing his eyes something inside him seemed to click and perfect state of calm seemed to surround him, but it was not a nice 'oneness' calm, but the sort of calm you get efore a maniac with a clever decides to chop you up into smaller pieces of you. Jake's voice was calm and reasonable.

"Mr Hammersmith" Jake said with businesslike politeness "I believe you were asked for the location of the Oil beneath the city."

The dwarf looked at the squatting figure and spat, the vampire in the next ceel seemed to faint. Jake wiped the spit form his face and continued in the same calm voice.

"Mr Hammersmith, I don't care how many people you kill, maime or disfigure. I do not care if you wish to blow up most if not all of this city, it is of course your choice. However my collegues wish you to answer a simple question. If these explosions occur I will make sure that you live a very long life in a state of pain that I believe only a werewolf can bestow. You will not die until you are old and grey and you will never become used to the pain."

The dwarf appeared to be melting, saying nothing else he moved to stand behind Jeannie. This was her past and this was her friend, she was the one that needed to find out what had happened and she was the one that needed to ask the questions, he had just...given her a helping hand. 

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Watching Chrys's face she could see the internal conflict going on,in the end he looked at Jake, looked at Jeannie and seemed to reach a decision.

"The demonstration will take place at the Opera House tonight" the dwarf mumbled "But I will not tell you any more than that!" he added with what he probably thought was a rebellious tone.

Jeannie nodded at Patrick who knew what to do, he went straight to Vimes office with the information. They should have enough time to get the area evacuated and sealed off, if not to locate the explosives aswell. With some of the pressure off, Jeannie turned back to the scowling dwarf.

"Alright, now do you want to explain what is going on regarding werewolf pelts?" she asked him with a look of poison on her face. He just glowerd at her, she shook her head and couldn't hold in the questions any more

"What the hell happended to you Chrys? What happended to the dwarf who helped me when he found me hurt in the woods? What the hell happend to my friend?"

Chrys came back to the bars, "He's dead! The foolish dwarf who was stupid enough to befriend a beast is dead! All that is left of him is what you see before you!"

The hatred in his voice was pure and obvious, Jeannie approached the cell "Why? What did I ever do to you for you to hate me this much?"

"You are a wolf! Is that not reason enough!?"

Shaking from the emotion she replied "It never used to be, why is it now?"

He threw himself at the bars and yelled "When I left my mine I left to be married! what did I find when I got near my new home, a wolf stood over the not-yet dead body of the dwarf I was to marry. That damn wolf waited until I had almost dragged the mangled body back to the mine then it attacked and finished the job...guess who that wolf was, Jeannie! Shall I give you a clue!? A golden streak down her back, one white ear and a white patch on her throat just like yours!"

Jeannie went pale, when she spoke it was barely a whisper "my mother.."

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The cells went silent again and everyone seemed to be taking this in, well Jake knew that he certianly was. It seemed like a case of mistaken identy, unfortunately this mistake had cost a friendship and might cause an opera house to be blown to pieces, not to metnion a few werewolves their hides.

"You think you're good enough to tell one werewolf from another? How is killing a large number of people or skinning werewolves going to help to bring your fiance back? How infact does killing randomly make you different from the werewolves that you apparently seem to dislike so much."

He watched as the Dwarf glowered at, burning hatred, terrible and furious, he had seen that before, it was like looking into a mirror of himself those eyes, he knew that feeling, he wondered if the dwarf hadl et it consume him completely. No answer came though and soon the dwarf let go of the bars and slumped to hte floor crying and sobbing, but saying nothing, still it seemed that no one was going to move. 

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She stared at the sobbing dwarf, trying to process it all. Her mother had mauled his fiance? But like Jake said he could be wrong couldn't he?

Well, wrong or not, the hatred in Chrys's eyes had been clear. He had got involved in all this, hurting and betraying people, all because of that horrible incident. The emotional upheaval from the past few hours threatened to overwhelm her, she had to get out of here. A sergeant breaking down in front of prisoners and colleagues was something that just could not happen.

She turned suddenly and walked out of the cells, with no real purpose to where she was headed the tears streaked down her face as she walked, she found an empty room. Once she had closed the door she fell to her knees, the sobs breaking free as all the emotion, all the tension finally released itself

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Patrick got his orders from Vimes and ran like the blazes down to the training yard.

"Alright you lot listen up! All of you are now temporarily mine! What?Oh Yes, sorry, Lance Constable er...just call me Patrick! When? Yesterday..."

Behind him, Patrick heard a soft cough and all activity in the yard came to an abrupt halt as Commander Vimes stepped out onto landing.

"I trust you are all now properly aquainted with our new lance constable? Yes? Good! Listen to me very carefully; this man has been through more in the last 24 hours than most of you have in the last 5 years of your lives! You will listen to this man and follow every order he gives until the Sergeant meets you at the opera house! Enough said!"

With a soft, 'carry on', Vimes turned and walked back into the Watch House calling for a runner to pull in any officer not in fact dead at the moment.

Patrick turned back to the mob assembled at the bottom of the stairs.

"Right, here we go. I need four coaches here in the next 5 minutes to bring the rest of the Watch as they show. Corporal Butterman, see to it. Tell the coachmen this is official Watch business and the city will square up later. You, er, whoever you are - get another 5 coaches, empty mind you, over to the vicinity of the opera house and wait for my call. Same story. Sergeant Angel? Sorry to step on you toes here but we need barricades brought over. Find them and get some help loading them onto the roofs of the coaches coming behind us with the rest of the Watch."

He liked this stuff. He could do this.

"The rest of you follow me. We're going to have to be quick."

patrick realized he still hadn't told them what was wrong, but he remembered from his regiment days; don't give out all the gory details at once. This way everyone is still bound to show up.

_Start telling this bunch that there's about to be a bloody great explosion and they'll suddenly come down with the flu or something._

As his group began jogging through the streets, he wondered if they'd be able to pull it off in time.

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Everything was happning to fast for Broc. He just followed Patrick to the Opera house. He knew someone needed to get there now. thats when the idea hit him. Broc looked up at Constable Bluejohn

"Throw me!"

"Huh?" Bluejohn looked confused.

"Throw me at the Opera house!"

Bluejohn shrugged, grabed Broc and HEAVED.

Broc sailed over the running watchmen and the buildings.

Right before he went through a window of the Opera house, he realized that he had no idea what to do

"D'oh!"

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The Priest slowed down with each step, until he lost the group. His mouth began to foam, and his eyes became all blurry.

When he woke up, he immediatley ran towards the Watch House. He was now different, for he knew.  
When passing an alley, he was hit by a heavy body, throwing him to the ground. It was the very werewolf from some time ago.  
_Well, its now or never. Lets see if the visions were not just caused by lack of alcohol._  
He grabbed the werewolves throat, and held him at a distance. He couldnt strangle him, but he just needed a few seconds to delve into his psychological wossname. He suddendly seemed to grow taller, his face stood out more and his eyes became a perfect blue. He concentrated.  
The wolf gradually stopped and adopted an expression of pure horror, if a wolf could do that. He leaped away and dissapeared into a network of alleys.  
_This is cooler than i thought!_  
_Its horrible, you idiot!_  
The Priest started running towards the Watchhouse again. A week ago, he wouldnt have even dreamed that he'd spend whole days running towards a watch-house.  
He saw Patrick in the courtyard, and stumbled to a halt in front of him.  
'Opera house, Patricians palace, all major guilds, Unseen University, gas underground, blow up fast!' he said all this in one go, gulped for air and adressed the startled lance constable again:  
'Dont ask.'  
When he heard this, Patrick opened his mouth to ask, but decided that if what the priest said was true, long explanations would not be a good idea. And this would certainly be a long explanation. Or a long lie, but long in any case.  
The Priest was bent over, panting.

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Patrick watched as Broc flew overhead and could hear the distinct sound of him impacting the Opera House just down the way.

As they ran, Patrick explained the drill to the officers with him.

"Two on each corner of the bulding - start moving people away from the perimeter! Check each building that you come to - if you see anyone inside get them out and moving with the rest. This is not voluntary! They go or we take them."

Seeing the Opera House come into view he finished with, "Anyone too feeble, drunk or stubborn to move gets put on the coaches as they arrive. Coach fills up-send it out of here! Right now, the only two people who should be inside the perimeter or inside the Opera House itself are myself and Broc!"

He watched as the officers split up and began moving citizens out of the area. It wasn't a major night for the opera so the crowd was more managable than he expected, but people still lived and worked nearby. It was dark now and everything was being done by torch light.

Running up to the front of the building, he could hear a commotion inside and realized that Broc had made a spectacular entrance above. Someone inside wasn't too happy about being upstaged.

As he moved deeper into the building he saw that this must have only been a dress rehearsal night. The people watching the performance looked like the stage hands and under-studies.

"If everyone would please excuse me for a moment, I'd like your attention please!"

All eyes turned toward him with the look that one usually gets for disturbing a funeral or some other equally solemn event; like a wedding.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this comes directly from Commander Vimes of the City Watch; you all need to leave the building immediately. No time to gather personal belongings. We must get out now!"

A voice, probably that of the stage director, called out, "What's this all about then? Why do you disturb us when you can clearly see that we are in fact in the middle of - "

Patrick cut the voice off in mid sentence.

"Excuse me sir, how old would you say this building is?"

"My great great grandfather performed here as a boy and back then this beautiful lady was already some 600 years in the business!"

Patrick smiled and nodded toward the group.

"Fine then. Tomorrow, when the smoke has cleared and the ground has stopped moving, we'll remember that if they decide to rebuild the place...  
GET OUT NOW! Broc! Anyone not moving fast enough gets a boot to the bucket! MOVE IT PEOPLE!"

He stood back against the wall as the costumed performers and grimy stage hands filed out of the building with mutterings and veiled curses under their collective breath.

"Broc, as soon as the last of them are out we'll make a quick search. I should probably tell you now - we have reason to think that there is going to be an explosion here tonight. We think there is mining oil buried around here somewhere. Let's make this quick!"

He could just hear the sounds of coaches arriving with more Watchmen and coaches departing with citizens. Seargeant Angel was apparently erecting the barricades.

_I just hope I didn't forget anything..._

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Broc stood up and nodded at Patricks explanation. amazingly the only part of him that had fallen of was...well lets just say that Brocs head was takeing up both his hands.

"A'right! C'mon people get out now unless you wanna look like me. Or worse."

Broc was nervous, fire was hell for a zombie.

Then he stopped.

A rumble came from beneath the House.

Broc turned and yelled

"Patrick, everyone, GET OUT NOW!"

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In the small dimly lit room, the body shaking sobs that had been pouring out of Jeannies body finally began to stop. She tried to get her breath back as the tears began to slow

Wiping her face she was aware of how much clearer it was to think now that she had yielded to the emotions that had been bubbling inside of her.

With that clarity of thought came the remembering of what was going on. The Opera House, the oil! She was aware of the noise of officers on the move, she wiped her face once more. Standing up hurriedly she opened the door and ran to the Yard outside. Vimes was there directing people this way and that

She ran up to him, after a brief exchange she was briefed on Patricks actions. "You know sir, I really think he should get a promotion. I know he's only been with us for a few days, but he's a damn good officer" She didn't wait for his answer, she sprinted in the direction of the Opera House As she vaulted the barracades she felt a rumble

_Oh s!_

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The Priest seemed to stand taller, prouder, and seemed to be surrounded by some kind of noble aura. But if you half-closed one eye and opened the other one wide enough, you could see the scruffy, thin priest from before. And in his eyes, there was conflict.

_And now the dice have fallen. In Old Tongue. Like FABRICATI DIEM PVNC or something... We're all just pawns on his big game. The Bd._  
_Stop rambling, man!_

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Patrick had just thought about the dwarves digging under the Opera house for the last few weeks or months, slowly building up a supply of mining oil.

He was snapped back into place with the sound of broc yelling out his name. Almost immediately he felt the floor rumble.

Grabbing the last person in line filing out the front door, Patrick pushed for all he was worth. The entire group was propelled out of the Opera House just as a hot wall of air and fire blew out over their heads.  
The noise was deafening. All he could hear now was the muffled thump thump thump of what must have been more explosions underground. Bits of wood and tile had already started to rain down on the people outside and the sky had turned as bright as day.

Patrick looked up and saw the other watchmen, shaken, but still doing their duty, loading people onto the last of the coaches. There were still other citizens on the street, but with the sudden noise and fire, their sense of urgency had stepped up a notch and they were running for their lives.

He saw the figure of Broc standing in the doorway as another eruption lit up the inside of the old Opera House.

The vampire in him was exerting itself. Sally said it would manifest in times of stress and this was most defintely stress.

Getting to his feet he grabbed the form of a woman from the ground and threw her toward the closest officer, "Get out of here now! Run!"

More explosions, farther off. he could feel them more than hear them.

_The bstards! They dug under the entire city! There's more oil under here than we knew!_

Another rumble and a jet of fire shot up from somewhere two streets over. More debris fell to the ground.

As he stood there in utter fascination of it all, he saw Jeannie running toward the few officers still visible. He looked back at the now fully engulfed structure behind him and didn't see Broc anywhere.

_He was right there at the door! He should have gotten out!_

He ran towards Jeannie...

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Seeing Patrick come hurtling towards her Jeannie yelled so she would heard above the noise "Are all the citizens out of there?"

He nodded and shouted somthing back, she though she heard Brocs name but the crash of burning timber drowned out the rest of it. Another huge rumble shook the ground, almost bringing down the buildings just from the force of it

She saw flames shooting up in fierce jets in the distance. The bastards! how much of the stuff is really under there?

"We have to try and get people out of the city!" She yelled over the noise "We don't know how far this is going to go!"

A piece of masonry crashed down behind her, She looked around at the complete chaos. How long had this taken to set up!? Why?

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"We won't be able to save everyone, but I say we each take as many people over the bridges as we can. We'll have to split up!"

This was getting too big to quickly. A city can only prepare and defend against so much. This had gone way beyond that.

"How about we try to meet up at the Hubwards Gate in about an hour?"

Patrick almost had to yell in her ear. The noise was thundering in waves down the streets.

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The shouts had been so loud that Mrs. Wizzard had heard them from her room. From Chrys's fiance, to the oil under the city.

Now, in the utter confusion and explosins, Mrs. Wizzard was getting people as far away from the opera house as possible. She wasn't sure if the others knew she had arrived or not, but right now that didn't matter. People were running for their lives and the city was blowing up.

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"Okay, I'll see you there...be careful! Thats an order!"

She ran, into the flames and smoke that was rapidly eating its way along the streets, looking for people. She was glad to see that several officers had thought of doing the same thing. As she passed them she paused long enough to yell at them them to try and get as many people out of the city as they could.

The heat was becoming intense, the flames were ripping the buildings to pieces around her. The smoke filled her nose and stung her eyes making them stream. She found people as she went on, who were frightened and panicking and led them towards the city gates, picking up more evacuees on the way. Once she had got them to the gate she went back into the inferno, looking for more. She didn't think about this, it was her job to protect the people.

She thought about her friends, and prayed to any gods who might be inclined to listen that they were safe..

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Broc lept. The flames roared over him. It was loud. he stumbled around confused. Thats when he saw the Assassin aiming a crossbow at Patrick. Without thinking he dived, rolled, shoved Patrick out of the way, felt the crossbow bolt thud into his chest and chunked his sword at the Assassin and collapsed cause his legs fell off.

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Jeannie ran back through the burning streets and saw a familiar shape emerging from the smoke.

Mrs Wizzard was helping a group of people away from the worst of the blaze. Jeanie ran up to her and surprised both of them by grabbing her and giving her a hug

"Thank the gods you're alright! Have you seen the others? Patrick, Broc or The Priest? Jake?" Mrs Wizzard shook her head

Jeannie didn't even try to hide the concern on her face "Damn! We'll just have to hope they are alright. Head towards the hubwards gate, I'll be there soon!"

At least she had directed one of her friends to safety. She carried on through the smoke and the noise, yelling at people to head towards the gates as they ran past her. Most of them didn't need telling twice, Ankh Morpork people had a rats instinct for fleeing a sinking ship...or in this case a burning city.

The smoke was increasing, the stink of the burning oil was everywhere.  
Jeannie was bent double her eyes streaming, coughing to try and clear her lungs of the vile oil tainted smoke that was becoming worse the closer she got to the center of the blaze. She tore off one of her shirt sleeves and soaked it in a nearby rain-barrel. Wringing out the excess water she tied it around her mouth and nose, it helped slightly.Breathing was easier. Standing up straight again she managed to continue on down the ravaged streets..

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Patrick was sure he knew where the Hubwards Gate was, but didn't want to have people following him if he got lost. The flames and smoke made finding landmarks difficult. He could still make out the tower at the university and tried to use that as a guide.

Each time he came to a group of people in the streets he'd yell at them to head for the gates.  
Here and there were watchmen leading families away.

Eventually the streets thinned out and Patrick figured that everyone who was getting out was gone.

_I haven't seen any of the others for a bit. I have to head for the gate; no sense in getting trapped here._

He started to run through the thick smoke, lungs burning and eys watering. Up ahead he could see more fire; these were torch lights though, not buildings. As he got closer, he saw that the torches were being held by the remaining wathcmen helping the citizens get to safety.

He came to a stop in the crowd and did what they were all doing; looked back at the burning city.

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The Priest first wanted to head for UU, but thought:  
_They can take care of themselves, theyre wizards after all._  
He then changed direction towards the Patricians Palace.  
_Wait, am I really going to save the Patrician? He can definitley take care of himself._  
He then headed for the Guilds, but the sky over them was thick whit smoke. Well, they probably got out.  
He followed the crowd. However improbable, even though he was standing in the middle of a burning city, there was nothing to do. He wasnt even scared. Well, all that remained to do was follow the crowds, he was bound to find something interesting to do this way.

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Jeannie couldn't see any more signs of people in the burning streets, she had sent everyone she had found to the gates and now she had to believe that anyone who could get out had done so, she couldn't carry on looking.

The smoke was becoming suffocating, despite the covering on her mouth. It probably couldn't kill her but if she passed out here the fire certainly could.

She turned around, fighting her way back towards the gate. Waves of dizziness kept creeping over her as she half ran, half-stumbled away from the worst of the blaze. The smoke became less dense as she made her way towards the hubward gate. She wiped away the tears that the smoke had caused, leaving a few clean streaks on her soot blackened face

She kept her hopes up that all her friends had made it to the gates as she made her way there herself...

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_Hubwards Gate. Ah, i knew it!_  
The Priest spotted Jeannie and headed towards here.  
'Casualties? Where are the others? Can I help?' he asked and realized that he could be heard above the roaring of the crowd.  
_Thats it, why dont you run all over Sator Square screaming and waving a banner saying in large letters: I'm an ..._  
_Oh, shut up._  
He hoped she was too busy to have noticed that.  
_Whats it matter to you anyway?_  
_Why do I have to repeat myself all the time?_

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Broc couldnt move and he saw the flames creep closer.  
sometimes he hated being a zombie. and definitly hated it when his legs fell off and he couldnt move. like they had now. he screamed

"Aw, crap!, HELP!"

and prayed to the gods that he didnt believe in.

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Gasping and coughing, trying to clear her lungs after the large amount of the evil smoke she had breathed in,Jeannie looked at the priest as he approached

_why is his voice so loud?_

"I think Patrick and Mrs Wizzard are at the gate already. I don't know about Broc, Patrick said something about him but I couldn't hear properly" She gasped for a clean breath before finishing "I have no idea where Jake is"

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The Priest raised his head like a wolf who has scented something interesting.  
'My Priesty-sense is tingling!' he said in one go, as the air around his head went all blurry, and ran towards the Opera House.  
The Priest had, in time, developed a sixth sense. He could _not_ feel when a believer was praying to a diety, but could feek when unbelievers were praying. This had been of great use to him in his past.  
He stopped in front of the burning Opera House and stared for a few seconds, but rallied quickly and ran into the burning wreckage. If there was a watcher present he might have gotten the impression that the Priest had grown a bit taller in those few seconds.

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Mrs. Wizzard got to the gate, praying to Barruca-well, maybe not him, but she was certainly praying to someone that her friends were all okay.

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Jeannie watched the priest run away in amused bewilderment. She could see a huge crowd of people around the edges of the city and headed towards the hubward gate. Still trying to get a clean breath she approached looking around for her friends. Normally she would be able to locate them by their scents but all she could smell was smoke.

She had pulled her make shift mask down off her face, leaving a clean patch around her mouth.. Her skin was coverd in soot, her clothes reeked of the smoke and she was missing both shirtsleeves, the other one had been used to make a makeshift dressing on a woman with a nasty cut on her arm.

Her only goal right now was to find her friends...after frantic searching she saw Mrs Wizzard, and over there was the familiar figure of Patrick. The relief at seeing them both there was immense, she knew the priest was ok and the way he had run off after she mentioned Broc somehow had her thinking that they would both be alright but something still worried her, what about Jake? Where was he?

She approached her friends, still coughing everynow and then, that smoke was noxious...

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People running everywhere to save theyre lives except that small group of people over there. That'd be them, definitley, thought the Priest.  
He walked over to them, forcing himself to cough now and then. He had learnt his lesson.  
Broc would follow, the Priest didnt see him when he looked back, but he was a zombie after all, and they tended to move slowly.

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Broc would have coughed if he breathed but, alas he didnt. But he couldnt see a damn thing. He thought he saw the priest but he couldnt tell. Thats when he caught fire.

"HOLY CRAAAAAAAPPPP!!"

He went running out of the opera house, past stunned people and out the Hubwards gate.

"SOMEONE PUT ME OUT!"

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Patrick saw Jeannie and Mrs Wizzard in the growing crowd and was happy that they had survived. He was frankly amazed that so many had made it out.

Making his way toward them, he called out, "Hey! Any idea where Vimes is? What about the Patrician?"

He didn't know what to do next. The explosions has stopped and now it was just the fire that was causing the damage. Fortunately, the river kept the most severe damage limited to the Isle of Gods. The other fires didn't seem to be moving as fast now.

"I guess the oil has burned off. maybe there's a chance the city can be saved."

_So much for finding a nice place to settle down in...maybe it will rebuild. I heard this place has been here for a heck of a long time._

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As the group all came together, a flaming Broc came hurtling towards them. Jeannie looked around, found a very handy bucket of water that just so happened to be inexplicably yet conveniently right next to her and threw it over the burning Zombie thus quenching the flames.

Putting the bucket back down, she turned to Patrick

"From what I know about this city it has burnt down quite a few times. They close the river gates, flood the city then rebuild over what is left...the city will recover" Even as she spoke the crust of the Ankh seemed to be rising...

She pulled the damp remnant of her shirt sleeve from around her neck and used it to wipe the rest of the soot off her face. "I haven't seen anyone apart from you guys and a few of the other officers."

Having removed the soot she looked around again at the faces in the crowd, there was still one of their group missing. Again she hoped that Jake was alright, fire was just as lethal to a werewolf as it was to anything else

Turning back at the group she continued "I think all we can do for now is wait until they put the fire out then head back in and see what we find."

Looking around she could see the various carts and coaches that were already beginning to queue up at the gates of the smouldering city. Now that she was stood still and the adrenaline was wearing off, the exhaustion was catching up with her. She sighed and sat down with her back against the city wall watching the faces of the people around her.

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Standing with her friends, Mrs. Wizzard watched as the city burned. Nothing like this had happened since she moved here. No one had told her that the whole city could actually be on fire. She was glad that her friends were okay, she'd seen the priest with Jeannie a few moments ago, so he was all right, but where was Jake?

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The heat was so intense he thought his lungs were on fire. His hair seemed to crackle as though drying out and ready to catch alight at any moment. Frantically he scanned the burning wing and suddenly realised that he might be trapped or even worse, unable to reach her. Diving deeper into the inferno he heard shouts from somewhere outside, but they were distant and un-important.

At the watch house the thought had struck Jake that if this dwarf hated werewolves so much then surely his family home would be a very good target. Surely not even that grit sucker could be so crazy? Seeing Jeannie's pain and wishing he could comfort her but knowing he must see what he could do for his own family, he rushed out and dashed away into the night.

He had seen the tongue of flame shoot into the night before he had heard the explosion at the opera house and somehow he knew that he would be too late to stop the explosion at his families. When he arrived his father was watching the side of the house go up in flames and seemed perfectly calm amidst the panic. The two implacable wolves stood to either side of him as did most of the family, the remainder appeared to be rushing out. Counting heads he realised that the most important was not there.

"Where is she? Where is Sash?"

His father turned and looked at him, his expression never changing.

"She is still inside, I am waiting for everyone to come out."

Jake unable to remain as calm as his father leapt into the house and before anyone had been able to stop him he had disappeared into the smoke and heat.

A beam creaked and sapped slamming him in the side of the face, he yelled with pain and fell backwards. Luckily it had been a glancing blow and had only been smouldering so there was not much damage, but he could already feel his eye beginning to swell. When he finally came across her she was lying still in her room and a terrible dread gripped him. Uncaring of flames or debris he rushed forwards and almost collapsed with relief when he heard a faint heartbeat and shallow breathing. She must have inhaled too much of the smoke and a large bruise on her head seemed to suggest that something had struck her, other than that she seemed fine, but Jake would feel better when they were both out of here and somewhere safer. Throwing a heavy table through the first floor window, Jake turned and lifted Sasha's prone form with all the tenderness of one cradling a child. Turning he leapt out of it.

Jake didn't realise he'd reached the Hubwards gate until he saw the people flowing through it and the milling watchman. Finding somewhere relatively clean of debris and people he lowered Sasha and realised three things, how tired he was, how much he hurt and most importantly he had know idea how to help his sister. He hoped that her werewolf blood would help take care of the concussion she must have but the smoke inhalation?

"HELP!"

He called, wondering if anyone would actually take any notice. He saw his hands then, they were blistered and cracked with heat and h realised that parts of his clothing had stuck to him, he must look dreadful, but he was still standing upright, Sasha needed help.

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The Priest looked at some distant figures with nothing else to do, when he heard one of them shouting for help.  
'Isn't that Jake?' he asked loudly, pointing towards the kneeling figure.

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Sitting against the wall Jeannie watched the fire burning down, feeling her eyes becoming heavier. She tried to shake herself awake, then came a voice that did the job for her.

Through the myriad of sounds that were around her she heard Jakes shout, the desperation in his voice shook some life into her aching body and she stood up, heading towards the sound of the cry. Beckoning for the others to follow, she pushed ahead through the crowd.

The sight that met her was Jake, scorched and bruised with a swollen eye. Blisters were all over his hands. What was more worrying however was the eerily still form of the girl in front of him, it only took a brief look at Jake to know that she was someone who was very important to him. Kneeling beside the girl, Jeannie felt for a heart beat and checked for breathing, thankfully both were present although faint. She looked up at Jake

"What happened to her?"

Jake told her. Jeannie nodded "Smoke inhalation?" gently Jeannie pushed the girls chin back which opened her airway, hearing the slight increase in breathing Jeannie looked at Jake. This close to the girl Jeannie could detect the scent above the smoke smell.

_werewolf_

"She needs to rest, we need to find somewhere to make her comfortable, but I think she'll be ok. Her body just needs time to heal" Jeannie looked at Jakes hands and then realised that some of his clothes were stuck to him from the blistering heat they must have battled through "Both of you do" she added. She was aware of the rest of the group catching up, good, right now she would feel much happier if they all stuck together

She looked around, this close to the edge of the city the houses were pretty much untouched by the flames that were even now being slowly put out. She spotted an inn.

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'Here, maybe this'll help a bit.' said the Priest, after some unsure glances at the ... lady on the ground and took out a bottle which looked just like any other Holy Water bottle. To the untrained eye.  
'A wise Klatchian Witchdoc...'he started out of habit, but corrected himself: 'I stole this from the donation box in the _Temple of Om_ ' he spoke the last part in a whisper, so as to avoid inconvinientley placed thunderbolts. 'after Dr Mossie Lawn left the place. Painkiller.'  
After noting his friends glances, he snapped:  
'I tested it. Guaranteed effect.'  
_You dont even know the girl!_  
_But they seem to do. I trust them._  
_Do you? suspenseful pause_  
_That was really uncalled for._

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Mrs. Wizzard took the bottle from the priest and examined it.

"It looks safe enough, besides, it's not like we have many choices here." Uncorking the bottle, Mrs. Wizzard pours a little bit into a bowl. Carefully lifting the girl's head, she tips the medicine into her mouth

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The owner of the Inn was stood in the doorway watching the blaze. Gently picking up the girl, Jeannie walked towards the building. The man made no attempt to move until Jeannie spoke "Watch business.This girl needs a bed, a clean one. And you'll bring us some cold water and lots of clean cloth straight away. Do it now please"  
She said it as though there was no chance the man would refuse, so he didn't. Jeannie also asked for beer and food for the group, they could all do with some after the past couple of hours

Once upstairs Jeannie carefully lay the unconscious werewolf on the bed, checking her over again and leaving her to the care of Mrs Wizzard before exiting the room. The inn keeper brought the water and cloth, which Jeannie took into the next room. She turned her attention to Jakes injuries...well, she tried to. The heat had stuck his clothes to him.

"Jake, this is going to hurt but your shirt is going to have to come off" she said as she carefully pressed a wad of cold cloth to his swollen eye

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Patrick had seen plenty of battlefield wounds, but this wasn't the same. The poor girl was going to need more than he could hope to do, so he left her in Mrs Wizzards better hands. He hoped the Priest had been telling the truth.

As Jeannie tended to Jake, Patrick was feeling like he needed something to do and so went to help with the food and drink.

He toyed briefly with the idea of going back to see if the Watch House was still standing; he figured Vimes would never have abandoned his city and was probably in need of every officer. But, no, that wasn't an option right now. The smoke was still making it difficult to see and breathe and besides, rumors were already spreading that the Ilse of Gods was gone.

_Vimes may not have even survived._

Almost as suddenly came the thought...

_Sally! Oh gods I hope she made it out! She was...a help to me. She kept me from killing. Sally._

As if all his thoughts were lined up just waiting to be heard his mind flashed on the Watch House again and remembered Chrys, the other vampire and all the other criminals sitting in their locked cells.

_They couldn't have...We have to know. I have to know if Chrys is dead or not! He could have escaped - or been rescued in the confusion and making his way..._

Grabbing the innkeeper he told the man, "Let the others know thatI went back to the Watch House. Tell them we forgot to check on a 'small' matter before we left."

Running out into the darkness, Patrick found privacy behind a small stable.

_Alright hero, now we find out. What is it going to be? Bird? Bat? Rabid mosquito? What can you turn into?_

Patrick concentrated, trying to find some part of him that would know what to do. Seconds ticked by...minutes...nothing. He was growing irritated, feeling like he must be the only vampire in history who's animal form was too shy to present itself.

With a grunt of frustration he stopped trying and simply made a dash for the gate. Passing another officer he called out to him, but got no reply.

Treacle Street and Merchants Street were clear enough, but the Street of Small Gods was a mess. If the Brass bridge was still intact he just might make it.

_What had Jeannie said? They flood the city in the event of a fire and then let the water back out? They could have drowned then...We still have to know._

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_Go on, tell them already!_  
_Tell them that...__No! Tell 'em that..._  
_Oh, that. But I cant tell them that, cause then Ill have to tell them that..._  
_Yes...?_  
_That..._  
_Oh, yes, that._

_Well, what are you waiting for? Tell them!_  
_Tell them that...?_  
_No! I mean yes! Yes, tell them that..._  
The Priest hesitantley opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.  
Really _tell them that...?_

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Jake wanted to say thank you to the Priest, to Mrs Wizard, to Jeannie and Patrick for everything, for all their help, but he couldn't his throat was so dry and all he kept thinking about was Sasha. When Jeannie came over and put a cool cloth over his eye it felt like it was on fire again and it was only through great strength of will that he didn't shout out in pain. He took hold of her hand, which again made him aware of the tenderness of his hands.

"Please don't, just look after her, I've been shot, kicked, trapped and stabbed I'll be fine, just please, take care of her."

When the innkeeper came in and gave them Patrick's Message Jake leapt to his feet, an action he regretted immediately as parts of his clothing came unstuck and decided that it would be a clever thing if they took large chunks of crispy skin with them. Jake sat down again unable to restrain a quickly stifled yelp of pain.

"The idiot" he croaked taking deep breaths "he can't go back there, the place is a maze of flames."

Jake realised he was torn between staying with his sister and going to rescues a creature that he had despised not long ago. He stood up again, more slowly this time.

"We need to go in after him, if he's going to be an idiot then we should at least be there to back him up."

He wasn't sure if he could really help though, he didn't think he could even think of leaving Sasha, she had been the only one, the ONLY one that had always treated him with respect and even affection and now here she was in a strange place, he did not want her to wake up with no one she knew around her.

"That damn watchman, you're all the same taking stupid risks for people you don't even know! He's gone to save a couple of criminals? What's the point he could be killed."

Frustration leant him strength and he managed to stay standing almost willing his body to heal

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When Jake took hold of her hand Jeannie winced at the sight of the blistered burnt skin on his hand. She nodded at his request and was about to return to the room with the girl in when the Inn Keeper came in with the message.

When Jake announced they should follow Patrick Jeannie had to admit she was surprised, but then his next comment had a different effect.  
_Stupid risks!? Damn watchman?_

She could feel the anger welling up, she managed to bite down on it and to simply say

"Stay here, look after your friend. I'll take the stupid risk, if it means Patrick has back up"

She opened the door but before walking through the doorway she turned back for a moment, her clothes were scorched with her shirt sleeves missing and soot smudged all over her skin. She was still coughing every now and then from the smoke earlier.

"I very much doubt if he has gone back to save those criminals, in all the confusion they could have escaped or been rescued. They could be out there again, roaming free and who do you think they are going to come looking for? Patrick isn't being stupid, he's looking out for all of us"

She shut the door behind her before Jake had the chance to reply, and she went into the room where Mrs Wizzard was tending to the unconscious girl. She stood in the open doorway

"Patricks gone back to the watch house, I'm going after him. We'll meet you back here, if we don't come back then...well just make sure you guys are ok" Mrs Wizzard looked worried but nodded anyway, before she left Jeannie took a good look at the girl. She was obviously very special to Jake, for his sake she hoped the girl pulled through.

She quietly closed the door behind her and left the inn to find Patrick

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Crossing onto the Isle of Gods wasn't all that easy; the bridges were still intact but only just. The city's defense against fire had worked; the flood had put out most of the fires except for the very rooftops of some of the taller buildings.

Finding his way to the Watch House, Patrick began to pull away bits of debris from the fallen structures in an attempt to locate an entrance.

The mud sucked at his boots making movement difficult at best.

Finally, he saw the opening to the front lobby and made his way inside.

Water dripped from everywhere and was ankle deep on the floor. The floorboards themselves sagged with each step and he was afraid he'd fall through.

_Splinters have taken on a whole new meaning huh?_

He found the door to the stairwell leading to the cells and yanked it open. His eyes, clearly working well in the darkness, told him that the stairwell was full of water. The cell room was now a pool.

_Nothing survived down there...Still, I have to see..._

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When Jeannie left, Mrs. Wizzard examined the girl for any other injuries. There were a few minor cuts and burns, but she easily took care of them with a bandage.

She looked down at her as the girl's breathing slowed. Mrs. Wizzard heart froze for an instant until the girl twitched a little. She breathed a sigh of relief, it looked like the girl had fallen into a more restful sleep

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Jeannie made her way towards the watch house, she was angry about what Jake had said but the thing that annoyed her most was that he was basically right. Watchmen did takes risks for people they didn't know and for people who half the time never thanked them. Did that make it a stupid risk?  
_No,_ she told herself, _it's your job,it's the job you chose and the job you do everyday of your life for people who don't care that you do it until they need you...but that doesnt make it stupid...does it?_

Walking through the burnt out streets she wondered if she was trying to reason with what Jake said, or with herself

A piece of masonry brought her out of her reverie when she stumbled over it. _Damn, got to be more careful_

Approaching the watch house she found the entrance that Patrick had used, she could smell his scent entering the building. Well, risk or no risk she _was_ a watch officer and she was here to make sure her friend and colleague was alright. Wrinkling her nose at the stink of the river water she stepped inside..

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When he had entered the room where Mrs Wizard was treating Sasha and he had seen her chest stop moving Jake had felt all the strength leave him and he nearly collapsed. It wasn't until she started breathing more evenly that he realised he had been holding his own. With shaky steps he moved forwards and, slowly, he knelt beside her. He had no idea what to say, he bit his lip and kissed her cheek. Damn Jeannie and Damn Patrick for making him do this, but he oculdn't leave them to do this alone.

"Mrs Wizard, I need to ask two favours I'm afraid, do you ahve anything to numb pain or some spell that you can cast that will numb it, I need to do things and I can't be distracted by it at the moment."

He paused and his voice went a litle more quiet

"And theo ther one is, please take care of my sister. Perhaps.." he wondered if this was wise, but decided he'd take all the help he could get "perhaps the priest could pray for her"

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Walking down the dark stairwell into the slimy water left by the river, Patrick just knew that he'd find the bodies of the caged criminals still in their cells.

His eyes were able to discern just enough detail in the cell room.

Chrys was dead. His body was stuck up against the ceiling of the cell from the pressure of the flooded room. Patrick couldn't sense a heartbeat.

_I've heard that drowning is supposed to be a peaceful way to go. Too bad. I hope he at least felt terror before his final breath._

Turning his attention to the next cell, Patrick was almost not surprised to find it empty. The lock was still secure and the walls were intact, but the vampire was gone. He couldn't feel him at all.

_I knew he had it in him. Probably turned into a weasel and ran at the first sign of fire. Bstard!_

Although he was now a vampire and theoretically unable to die by drowning, the pressure on his chest was growing and his lungs were beginning to burn. Patrick turned and headed back to the stairwell. Now he felt something; another life. He stood still for a second and let the sensation wash over him.

Jeannie!

_I've got to tell her. The vampire is gone. He can report back to The Company and tell them what we know. With Chrys dead he can make up almost story he wants to and once The Company hears about our progress, they'll go to ground. We'll have to start from scratch._

Patrick made it up the stairs and saw Jeannie just before he broke the surface. He was glad to see her, but didn't intend for anyone to follow him. He had to remind himself again that she could take care of herself.

"Jeannie. We had to know, either way. I just came back to see for myself."

Not knowing exactly how she would react to the news, he said simply, "Jeannie, he's dead. Its over for him."

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Mrs. Wizzard had a feeling Jake was in over his head, but he'd gone through too much in the past few hours to be in any mood for an argument, so simply reached into her robe, pulled out a bottle of thick purple liquid, and handed it to jake.

"This should instantly numb your pain," she said. "but, be warned, Jake: This is strong stuff, if you over exceed yourself your muscles will temporarily shut down and you'll be out like a light."

Mrs. Wizzard knew she had weaker potions that wouldn't knock him out if he overdid it, but Jake was in bad enough shape already. Just because he wouldn't be able to feel pain doesn't mean he can't get hurt or injured.

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Standing at the edge of the pool that was the cell room, Jeannie watched the shape of Patrick emerge from the water. When he told her of Chrys's death, she opened her mouth to say something but nothing came. She suddenly felt cold despite the lingering heat from the fire.

She shivered and wrapped her bare arms around herself in a futile effort to warm up. She managed to whisper

"And the vampire?"

Patrick confirmed her fears, it had gone. Jeannie nodded...so they needed to work out their next move quickly.  
Chrys's death was another shock to her already exhausted, over-stretched system, for a few moments she simply stood there staring into the water. A few tears rolled down her cheek, but they were tears of grief for the old friend of so long ago, not for the twisted bitter dwarf that they had caught up with. Through watery eyes that were red rimmed from exhaustion aswell as tears she looked at Patrick

"let's get out of here" she said hoarsely

He nodded and pulled himself out of the deeper water, they splashed through the ankle deep water towards the exit. Jeannie was filled with grief and rage, but tried to keep her mind on what they had to do next. She was trying so hard to do this that she didn't notice the dark shape in the shadows watching them...

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The Priest _had_ prayed for the girl. An older part of him noted horrified, that he just couldnt put any life into it.  
_Go on, tell them!_  
_All right , Ill do it already!!_  
The Priest opened his mouth, this time full of self-assurance and...  
_Wait! At least wait till the others are here too. Save some of your breath, youll have lots to explain._  
...closed it again.  
_Thanks for ruining the moment, ox-head._

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It had been the longest and most stress filled day that Patrick had experienced in a very long time. He was beginning to feel exhausted and he could sense the weariness starting to overtake Jeannie.

"Let's get back to the inn and check in with the others. If we can, we should sleep, eat and plan for our next move tomorrow. We won't be any good to anyone tonight."

He thought about the other Watch officers and wondered how many of them made it out. He briefly thought of Sally again and found himself trying to reach out to her. She had been a great help to him. He'd like to see her again.

_I'm okay Sally. Where are you?_

As Patrick and Jeannie made their way back out to the street, something behind them shifted and fell to the ground. Patrick looked, but didn't see anything.

"This whole place will probably come down on it's own before morning."

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Jake took the vial, there were always caviets. He shook the liquid, it went...gloop.

"Thank you Mrs Wizard."

Unstoppering it he took a swig and the effect was almost immediate. All the fatigue, all the pain, it was gone and he could finally concentrate again. taking one last glance at his siter he pocketed the liquid and ran off towards the watch house.

His body might have been screaming blue murder at him and he would never know, he felt great and he urged his body to move faster.

_Why am I doing this? stupid watchman. Why did I have to make friends with watchman?_

He wasn't sure how long he ran for, his body was on auto-pilot, but his brain seemed to engage once again when he saw Jeanie and Patrick emerging from the watch house. They were empty handed, the prisoners must be dead or have escaped. It was only by chance that he noticed the shadow, it had moved and he had not scented it earlier because of the stink of the Ankh.

He wasn't going ot get there in time, he pushed harder and felt his ankles lengthening questionly but this was no time for the wolf. He shouted.

"DUCK!"

Something was thrown from behind Patrick and Jeannie and missed them by a hairs bredth. Jake lunched himself over their heads and disappeared into the shaodws, there was a struggle. 

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Patrick hadn't been paying attention and ofcourse didn't duck until the figure of Jake flew directly over his head.

He turned, startled at the sudden arrival and commotion behind. Jake had disappeared into the opening of what had been the Watch House. He could hear the sounds of a struggle from inside and knew it had to be the vampire from the cell room.

_How did I miss it? Maybe it's not him. Oh hell..._

For whatever reason, Patrick went on the defensive; he didn't initially run to help Jake, but instead started looking around him in a wide circle looking for any more danger. He could feel Jeannie standing beside him and felt Jake ahead only because of the fury. Otherwise, he didn't sense anything else.

_Don't get too relaxed. You already let something sneak up behind you once..._

The sounds of the battle inside the crumbling building were horrifying. Whatever Jake had engaged was putting up a good fight. Patrick knew that going in to help would be dangerous; Jake might mistake him for something else.

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As Mrs. Wizzard kneeled by Sasha, she cast a sideways glance towards the priest. He seemed rather different, now. He was consideribly less drunk, which seemed uncomfortably odd to her, and he seemed a great deal more sane, which positively worried her. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it.

_Eh, allright, I won't ask..But, if he doesn't end the suspense soon, I'll have to hurt him_

Leaning back against the wall, Mrs. Wizzard continued to watch the girl sleep

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Jake's clothes were in tatters, this vampire was strong, but Jake was fueled by drugs and, he understood now, stupidity. The two of them struggled, each trying to get at the others throat. The vampire thought to imobilse him by smacking at his flaking and pealing flesh, Jake felt nothing, but his bloody sores smeared across the road and he knew the vampire was descending into a beast like state, which was a good thing as his own blood was having a similar effect. His morphic field trembled and in that instnat the vampire struck out again and snet Jake flying into a wall, the potion chose that moment to loosen its grip and the imense weight of his limbs seemed to come crashing down. It had to happen, things always went wrong during the final fight, the hero was bitten to a pulp and then he managed to strike the enemy a clever blow and come up with some clever line before spitting on the prone form of his assailant. Jake really wished he thought he was the hero here. With ever increasing shakes he took the vial and tossed down antoher third. The lightness returned and he sprang nimbly at the vampire the two of them emerging into the light of the blazing streets. 

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Jeannie watched the fight for a few seconds wondering how Jake was manging to do it, he must be in agony! The blood was getting everywhere, she could see it affecting the vampire and she could feel it calling to her wolf.Her senses were filled with the scent of it

There was plenty of broken and splinterd wood around, ripping off a piece she waited until the vampire was on top of Jake then grabbed it by the throat and slammed it down onto the cobbles. Before it knew what was going on it had a very pissed off, snarling werewolf kneeling on its chest with the long sharp piece of wood piercing its skin right above it's heart.

She looked into it's eyes, hers had that strange orange glow that happend when she was angry and on the verge of change. She growled at it, and managed to keep enough control to ask what they needed to know

"One chance, tell us where to find the Company"

It raised an arm suddenly, Jeannie pushed the stake in a fraction further. "Sudden movments will get you killed, not talking will get you killed, you don't have alot of options here"

It looked at her completely unsure but tried the only card in its hand anyway, "You wouldn't, you're a watch officer!"

Jeannie just stared at it her expression of fury not changing one bit "You know, right now I'm not sure what I am but I know this, I'm pissed off, I've had a very _very_ bad day and if you don't talk in the next 30 seconds I will drive this stake into your heart and watch your face as you turn into dust!"

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Patrick stood there, knowing that this wasn't his fight. Once Jake and Jeannie got a handle on it, he knew he'd only complicate things.

The blood was starting to pull at him, but he tried his hardest to keep calm. This would be a bad time to loose control, he would be done for.

Backing away from the fight, he continued to scan the immediate area looking for any sign of danger. Something else moved in the darkness, the dim light of dying flames on the rooftops only just illuminated the figure.

He looked closer...Sally?

I'm here Patrick. Come with me. I need to show you something.

_I can't Sally! We've got to finish this!_

They can do it wihtout you. Come with me. _NOW!_

With that last command from Sally, Patrick felt himself being pulled along toward her. His body moved on its own. He couldn't, didn't want to fight it.

Each step he took toward her should have brought her closer, but instead Sally continued to recede into the shadows. She floated, her feet just an inch or so off the ground.

This way

Soon, Patrick had disappeared into the shadows as well.

All he could see now were her eyes, glowing in the surrounding dark. He followed without thought. After a minute or two he became aware of other life around him; weak, dying, but there. The smell of bloood was over powering; it got into his nose and mouth, so thick he could taste it.

yes

They entered a small clearing on one of the streets were although there had been little damage, people had been trapped in all the confusion. On the ground lay a dozen or more figures, battered, bloodied, only just hanging on to life. Around them stood black robed figures whose faces were hidden under large hoods. The only thing showing were their glowing eyes.

Here, Patrick. This is what I wanted to show you

He looked down at the bodies and felt...nothing. They were nothing more than cattle to be fed upon. They were food. They were his to finish.

"Sally -

"Patrick. Feast! I saved them for you. We - saved them for you. We must leave soon and need to be strong. Go ahead!"

The last remaining part of his soul cried out -

"I thought you didn't do this anymore! What is this?"

Sally smiled and shook her head slowly.

"We didn't. For a very long time we denied ourselves the one thing that made us what we are. But no more! The blood flowed so freely tonight that not one of us could resist any longer. We are Vampyr! We will not be restrained any longer! The night is ours - yours! Take it!"

The blood lust in him rose and the soul was pushed aside for the last time. He saw only the figures on the ground - not who they were. He didn't care. He was thirsty. He must drink.

The others smiled and Sally laughed like a wild thing as for the first time, Patrick took blood from another! His lust was unchecked as he ripped the very life from the gathered victims. There were no screams. There was no fight. Just a shudder as the last of their blood was taken from them.

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'All right, all right Im telling, Im _telling!_ ' shrieked the Priest.  
Mrs Wizzard, who knew about these things, took a mental note of the four exclamation marks.  
'Uh...' he began dramatically 'Nice day, innit?' He smiled forcedley. As a reply Mrs Wizzard nodded suspiciously.  
'By the way, Im half-elvish.' he continued, his face becoming serious. 'Do you want the long or the short version?'  
Mrs Wizzard, who knew about things like drama and narrative, asked for the long version.  
'Well then, uh. You see, I'm half-elvish.'  
'You already said that.'  
'On account of my dad being an elf. After I have met Barrucaddu I thought I discovered the only true religion and after I've built my glorious temple I have been making lots of ... propuhgandah, which is basically shouting louder than the others. In any case, one of the Uberwaldians has mocked the holy baruccadu...' The Priest noted in horrorr that he left out the capital letters and _didn't care._ 'which is why, I killed him with a silver dagger which I happened to carry with me. In any case, the discovery of the true religion and the murder have caused lots of human feelings to ... uh ... swell up, sort of. I dont know how to put this, its pretty complicated... Which is why the elf part of me got weaker, and my mind, spirit or whatever got unbalanced. So to speak. And my father, who has stayed hidden in this world for reasons I will explain later, has sensed this. He has attempted to reach me, telepatichally, so to speak. Which is when I fell to the ground foaming and telling jokes. Well, he then has managed to reach into my mind, and I, involuntarily, into his. That's when I found out about me being elvish... So, practically, I found out that he is the leader of the Company. He has been communicating with Chrys and various others through a series of messengers, so as not to reveal his identity. The reasons for his actions, however, are a mistery to me. Well. Thats about it. I hope I just about explained everything clear enough.'  
He actually hoped that he hadn't, after all, wizards knew about elves..

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On the burning street in front of the watch house Jeannie still knelt on the vampires chest. She was full of pain and rage and wanted to hurt something, this blood sucker would do for now

It still hadn't replied  
"Time's up!" She began to put more pressure on the stake that was already embedded in its skin, its eyes widened and it shouted "PLEASE!STOP!I'LL TELL YOU"

Jeannie said nothing but waited for it to speak

"Biers" it panted and winced at the movement. Jeannie hadn't released the pressure on the stake "Go there. You'll find your answers"

Jeannie stayed as she was, her eyes the perfect betrayal of the rage that was consuming her from within  
"Is that all?"  
the vampire nodded "I know no names but I know you'll find what you are looking for if you go there. The Company know who you are...but don't expect to leave alive"  
it said with a malicious grin

Jeannie smiled back but there was no humour in it

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you"

Without hesitation she plunged the stake deep into its heart, the vampire grimaced and shrieked before its features froze and its body crumbled leaving Jeannie knelt among a fine grey dust that floated this way and that on the shallow water that was creeping all over the cobbles.

Jeannie didn't feel any better for killing the thing but what else could she have done? They had nowhere to imprison it and letting it run away would have been too dangerous. Anyway she had despised the parasite from the moment they had encounterd it, when it had bitten Patrick. Her mind came back to the situation in hand, she looked around...where was Patrick?

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It took a great effort of will for him to sit up, he felt no pain still but somehow his muscles had become very heavy. He lay there listening to the rage in Jeannie's voice as she spoke to the blood sucker and realised that he really really _really_ didn't want to get up at the moment. Finally though he managed to heave himself upright and saw Jeannie stake the vampire.

"Well, he'll make a good egg timer" was all he could think to say.

Looking around he tried to see where Patrick had disappeared to, the scent of his own blood was getting in the way though.

"Uhhh…Where's Patrick?" 

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She turned around at the sound of Jakes voice, he was bleeding from several places but for some reason didn't seem to be in much pain.

Looking around the street she tried to smell where Patrick had gone, there was too much blood clouding her senses. She walked around near the alleys and finally manged to find a faint trace of his scent...and Sallys?

Her feet sloshed through the water as she went back to Jake. She knelt back down again, her body ached, she wanted to sleep but a brief rest was better than nothing.

"He was here when I grabbed the bloodsucker, then afterwards he was gone. His scent goes that way and so does the scent of Sally, the one from the watch. She's a black ribboner so..."

her voice trailed off, as the wind changed it brought the scent of more vampires, and fresh blood

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It was done. He had changed completely now. He was Vampyr!

Patrick stood in the middle of the small group and let the surge of strength take its course. The victms on the ground were no more than discarded scraps.

He looked at Sally and knew...everything. Her history, her dreams, her desires. She was an open book to him. He also knew she was dangerous and more deadly than anyone had ever guessed.

"You are one of us now Patrick. You can come with us and take your place among the ruling class. We may even find someone for you to keep as a - pet."

As she turned, Sally reached up and grabbed the badge off her cloak, tossing it to the ground carelessly.

Patrick watched her leave with the others, intending to follow, but found himself drawn to the shiny thing on the bloodied walk. He reached down and picked up the badge, slowly turning it over in his hand.

Every detail stood out clearly. He could see the tool marks from the day it was made.

_The Watch..._

He knew about the Watch, but it seemed like so long ago. The badge felt heavy. It almost seemed to be trying to get away from him, willing him to drop it. No. That wasn't it.

Patrick looked up and into the darkness, seeing all without difficulty. He sensed the heartbeats of rats and other vermin scurrying for their lives in the sewers below him. He knew of a human trapped in the wreckage of a collapsed house just over there... He could fly if he wanted to. He could snap the neck of a man like a twig. He...

The Watch. The thought intruded in on his mind as though it had to be heard over everything else.

Somewhere deep inside him there was a spark, a little left over from before; one cell with memory. Something that knew. He was...He was a Watchman. He was human?

At the thought, the badge in his hand burned and he dropped it, hissing through clenched teeth at the sudden pain. The scorch mark glowed briefly and blood flowed from the wound, causing a small wisp of steam to arise.

A Watchman.

_Jeannie. Jake. Fighting a - _

"A Vampyr, Patrick! And they killed him! They should be hunted down like the dogs they are!" It was Sally. She had come back and was standing there watching him intently. "We must go now. There are things to be done."

"No." Patrick didn't know if he had actually said it or not, but it was what he was thinking. "No. I have to...go back. I'm...they're my -"

"Friends? You want them as your own? You want to be one of them? Maybe I over-estimated your potential. You are going to regret your choices my dear. You will be hunted forever! You will not rest!" Sally's eyes were glowing with rage but she didn't move toward him. Instead, she backed away slightly. "Go then! Be with the food! Wait for your turn! I will kill you myself!"

"I know. I know you will Sally. But, this isn't me - at least I don't think it is. We will meet againI'm sure, but I will not be your enemy. Just another victim."

With that she disappeared. Patrick turned and walked back the way he had come. He could feel the new found strength working for him. His boots struck the stone pavement and sparks rose; he grabbed a fallen beam from in front of him and tossed it away like a tootpick. He laughed.

"I'm a Watchman."

You are a fool

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Hearing the approach of footsteps Jeannie tensed, Patricks scent permeated through the blood but was it really him? He was coming from the direction of the new scents. She waited to see what came towards them, whether Patricks soul was still inside the body that approached..

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Jake pressed the remaining purple liquid into her hand.

"Mrs Wizard gave me this, drink a little, we are going to need every bit of strength we can get at the moment."

His hands were bleeding and slick, but he had a firm grip on the phial and handed it to her.

When Patrick approached he stood, the scent of other's blood him pretty clear and it looked as though he hadn't bothered to wipe his face clean after he had eaten. His body felt heavy, but he felt no pain.

"You idiot, what have you done!" 

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Mrs. Wizzard stood stone still after the priest had told her his story. Her mind was racing, comprehending everything she had just heard. When her brain confirmed the information, she simply sighed and looked at the priest with a solemn expression on her face.

"This has been a very trying day, hasn't it," It wasn't a question. "Well, priest, I won't tell the others yuor secret, it's not mine to tell and it would be betraying a friend, but if you really want what's best for you and all of your friends, I think you should let them know"  
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When Jake pressed the vial into her hand she hesitated for a second before she drank a bit of the purple liquid inside. Her exhaustion left her almost immediatly, the aches and pains went away and she felt more focused...well that explained how Jake had fought so well with the injuries he had.

At Patrick approached Jeannie could almost taste the strange blood on him as he drew closer

_he did it then...he drank the blood. _

She stood up beside Jake and waited to see what would happen, the scent of the blood was strong and grew stronger as Patrick approached

_Well today really could not get any worse!_

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Looking at the pair as he approached, Patrick was initially glad to see they were alright. Being called an idiot changed that somewhat.

"Idiot? You call me an idiot? For what, doing now what was going to have to happen at some point anyway? You know as well as anyone that I did not want this, but what's done is done and there's no use crying about it now!"

He took a step closer to Jake and could smell the blood, sweat and slime coming from him. He could also smell the absolute weariness after the battle with the vampire.

"You might want to get used to me Jake. I think we're going to be in this together for better or worse. Personally I'd rather know you were on my side than to think you might be...an enemy?"

Patrick knew that this isn't what Jake had meant when he called him an idiot, but now there was another part of Patrick that would always be just under the surface. Waiting.

Looking at Jeannie he saw the look on her face and knew what she was thinking.

"Don't worry. I won't be any trouble. To you." He really did feel a slight superiority at the moment. "I came back because I want to see this done with. You gave me more chances in the last two days than anyone else ever has."

Reaching up to his face to move a strand of hair out of his eyes, he saw the blood come away on his hand.

_Damn._

"I have to tell you though that things may have just got a little more complicated. The vampires have turned. They are back to their old ways. The Black Ribboners are a thing of the past."

He casually wiped the remaining blood from his face and adopted a concerned look.

"I met up with Sally just around the corner there. She and several others had...fed. There was nothing to be done for it. They know what you did to that vampire from the cell and aren't too happy about it. I think the only reason they didn't come after you now is because as Sally said, they have things to do."

Looking away from the two, Patrick looked out onto the night. He was deliberately avoiding giving any details of the part he had in the feast. There was some decency left in him.

"Maybe we should get back to the inn? I'd hate to think anything happened to our friends while we were...out?"

Placing his hands into his coat pockets he began a slow walk. Looking back over his shoulder he called out, "Coming?"

_I came back because they are my friends. But I am also now Vampyr. This is going to be a labile existence at best._

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Jeannie took hold of Jakes arm as Patrick walked away and silently shook her head, but a part of her was fuming

_He would threaten us with his kind who are no better than leeches!?_

She watched Patrick walk down the street and knew that the man she had met fresh from the coach only days ago had been consumed by the bite he had received. Things between them were not going to be the same again, not now he had taken the blood of the living

She took the opportunity to take a good look at Jakes injuries, Mrs Wizzards potion may have killed the pain but he was bleeding from all over. He had to rest, and she knew that the fatigue would catch up with her soon. The night was drawing in, the full moon would soon be making itself known yet again, gods how she hated that damn moon!

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What an idiot he had been, he had actually begun to think that Patrick could be trusted. The guy had saved his life Jake thought he'd owed him, but now, now Patrick had fed off of other people. If Jake's body had allowed it he would have been feeling anger far deeper than any he had felt recently, it would be a rage tainted with betrayal and the knowledge that all leeches were exactly the same

"No, Jeannie and I go back, you can wait somewhere else."

He realised that he was not in any state to start a fight, but if this new Patrick decided to step into an inn in which his sister was lying prone fit state or not Jake would make sure he took this guy down.

"I was under the impression that being a watchman meant protect and server not protect and serve rare with a little salad. You helped to save my life and for that I was grateful, but my debt was cancelled when you decided to snack down on inn-" he stopped and decided that saying innocent was probably not the most accurate description of anyone in Ankh-Morpork "Defenceless people." 

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Jeannie said nothing, she simply stood next to Jake watching and listening to the exchange between him and Patrick.

The superior way Patrick had spoken to them was typical of a vampire, until now he hadn't had this effect on her but after hearing his words and seeing the blood on his face the wolf was angry. She concentrated on not changing, the moon would do that for her soon enough

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"I seriously doubt you can handle what remains to be done without a lttle extra help. Two werewolves, a wizard and a half insane priest against an unknown number of people in The Company? And half the vampires in the city?"

Patrick stopped walking and turned to face them.

"I came here looking for peaceful existance, to live out the rest of my days doing some good. AND NOW I AM A BEAST! I AM TO BE FEARED FOR THE REST OF MY MISERABLE EXISTANCE!"

Patrick hadn't wanted to loose his grip, but the frustration at his predicament was growing with each minute.

"I could have easily left with the others just now. I could have left with my new family to do gods know what to this pitiful city. But I didn't! I came back here to you! I am just as much a target as the rest of you!"

How could he describe what was going through his mind? Jake was a hot head, but he was a good man under it all; all he needed was a few more years on him to learn. Jeannie was the closest thing to a real friend that he'd had in years. But now there was this - separation. In any other environment they'd be mortal enemies. Part of him accepted that, relished the thought.

But there was a small, very small, part of him that wanted to be here right now with them.

"We've got too much to do in a very short time. I suggest we work this out. If you want a piece of me, then we'll have that time too. But after this."

"You're right Jake. My job is to protect and serve. I intend to do it, while I still have the capability to do so."

Turning once more toward the Hubwards gate, Patrick walked along the broken streets, almost waiting for the stake that must surely come. Would Jeannie do it? Would Jake?

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"You just let me know and I can make that miserable existence a whole lot shorter."

He had only meant to think it, but he had not been able to help himself and why the hell should he?

"I will finish this job with you Patrick, but I will never trust you and you will not come into the inn."

Why was he being like this? Jake was a werewolf he had seen people killed before, hell he had taken part in hunts and torture. Patrick's darker side was too close to his own, it was like a strange sort of reflection and Jake didn't like looking at it. Jake had snapped the neck of humans before and had enjoyed the click and crunch of bone, but that was behind him.

_Valker_

The name seemed to bounce around his mind as though it was now the only thought in there

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The Priest was seated thoughtfully in a corner. Mrs Wizzards remark had made him realise the importance of this discovery.  
He was now experimenting. He could fool himself by using elvish glamour and various ilusions. He was half-human, he figured, so it made sense. He felt a strong urge to test these powers on Mrs. Wizz, but restrained himself.  
He couldnt restrain himself, however, of trying to reach into the innkeepers mind and curiously examining his thoughts.  
Well, he just hoped that he wouldnt have to be forced to use these abilities.  
Part of him, anyway

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Jeannie listened to the words that Jake and Patrick threw at each other. She knew that at some point this whole thing between them would explode, but Patrick was right about one thing, they needed to finish the business in hand.

She thought she might know why Jake didn't want Patrick to enter the Inn. The only time she had ever seen true tenderness on the face of Jake was when he looked at that girl who was in Mrs Wizzards care, the girl had the scent of the Uberwalds on her so he was protecting someone very dear to him.

She felt saddened at the thought that they would need to protect anyone from Patrick, she had trusted him cas a friend and a colleague... until he had approached with the blood of the living still on his face, the final evidence that the vampire within was eating away his soul.

Before she moved to head back to the inn, she put her hand on Jakes shoulder and looked at him. He was strong, there was no doubt about that but his injuries were numerous and without resting first another battle could easily take a nasty turn

"If it comes to it, I'll help you protect her"

Turning away she shiverd and again wrapped her bare arms around herself, it didn't help to warm her up at all but it was just one of those things that you did anyway. Darkness was on it's way, the evening chill was setting in

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Patrick walked alone back to the gate, the two werewolves trailing behind. He knew things would never be the same.

_What the hell am I supposed to do? This is like having a disease! One day everything is fine, next day nobody wants anything to do with you! _

In his anger he simply walked through the crowd of people at the gate without regard; some got a push out of the way - others almost got thrown to the ground.

_And who does that pup think he is anyway? He knows nothing of me!_

Reaching the inn, Patrick stopped for only a brief second before moving to the wall surrounding the stable yard. With one quick jump he was on top of the wall, another placed him on the roof of the inn where he sat - an unlikely gargoyle figure.

He watched as Jake and Jeannie approached the inn and walked inside. He thought Jeannie looked up momentarily, but he wasn't paying too much attention to them now. He was back to searching the darkness.

_The Company knows about us. Sally knows all too much about us. We're going to have to think of something quickly. They might know about this place already..._

The least he could do would be to keep an eye out for anything trying to sneak up on them. They might not trust him anymore, but he would do his part

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Jake was only aware of Patrick as they walked back to the inn. There was no conversation, he could think of nothing to say. The liquid that Mrs Wizard had started to release its grip and Jake could feel the bills his body was waving at him beginning to mount.

As he saw Patrick leap to the top of the inn he stopped and felt gratitude towards the vampire. Jake hardened his heart though and went inside and upstairs to where Sasha lay. He once again lowered himself till he was beside her. Her breathing was even and she was still sleeping, her body was taking care of the damage and she would be okay.

While the potion's effects were still quite strong he went to the innkeeper and asked him for a bowl of water and a cloth. Carrying these outside he to leapt up onto the wall and paced up to the roof. He placed the bowl and the towel in front of Patrick.

"Clean yourself up, we have to discuss what we're going to do, you an come in, but don't you dare enter the room my sister is in."

Without another word he turned away and went back inside

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Jeannie glanced up at Patrick up on the roof, she fetl sympathy for him and also respected that he had heeded Jakes request. She was glad of it, maybe there was more left of his soul than had seemed?

When they enterd the inn and Jake went upstairs, Jeannie headed for the bar. She was exhausted but she knew they had to talk about what was goiing to happen and after today and everything it had thrown at her she felt she deserved a drink

She could hear movement and voices in the background but she sat in the corner, staring into her drink trying to come to terms with everything that had happend

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Mrs. Wizzard hadn't said a word when Jake came in, but she gave him a respectful nod as he left. She knew something wasn't right. Both Jake and Jeannie were bleeding, and Patrick was nowhere to be found, though a few moments earlier she thought she had heard something land on the roof.

Sitting in the silence, Mrs. Wizzard stared at the opposite wall, hlaf asleep. After about twenty minutes passed, she seemd to reach a decision and stood up.

"I'm going for a walk," she said to the priest. "Look after Jake's sister."

With that she quietly walked out of the room and down the stairs. At the door she caught a glimpse of Jeannie at the bar, before walking out into the night.

The air still smelled of smoke from the earlier fires, and soot was still covering a lot of the ground. The thoughts wearily going through her mind, Mrs. Wizzard began to walk down the street

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Broc had changed and helped with the clean up of the city. Thats when he had heard about the vampire and Patrick and poor Jake's little sister.

When he walked into the inn he saw Jennie. Grabing a beer he sat down beside her. Just like she was he stared at the wall. Then the anger that had been building up for the past few hours overflowed. He smacked the table hard enough to break it and yelled

"ARE WE JUST GOING TO LET THESE BASTERDS BLOW UP OUR CITY!"

then he calmed down. everyone in the inn stared at him. Broc just gave the the 'Gimlit eye's glare'. HE turned to Jennie

"Sorry, but really what are we going to do. we need to do something. we cant let them get away with this."

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When Broc sat down at the table Jeannie barely noticed him until he shouted his frustration. She understood it, although she wasn't quite so vocal about it

When he asked her what they were going to do she sighed, and gulped her beer down before replying.

"We know where to go, we know that the Company will know who we are as soon as we get there, we know that we are probably outnumbered and that it's going to be extremely dangerous and we know that despite this we are still going to go after them"

She put her tankard back on the table, leant back in her chair and stretched.

"But once we've all decided this we need to rest first, our chances will be better if we are not all the the brink of exhaustion"

She looked at Broc, did zombies get tired? Well, werewolves did and she was running on adrenaline and that strange purple potion. Sleep was a very sweet prospect right now, there was a full moon again tonight but the wolf wouldn't be going anywhere. Sleep was the priority right now, she stayed at the table though. She knew the others would want to discuss the plan for going after the Company

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Patrick had accepted the water and towel from Jake without looking directly at him. As Jake left, Patrick tried to mumble that he was watching the darkness so that the group wouldn't be ambushed. Jake had left without a word, so Patrick wasn't sure if he'd been heard.

He washed the blood and grime from his hands and face, taking relief in the feel of the clean water. He was aware of the others inside the inn and saw Broc enter as well, bringing their number up by one.

_Still not enough though. We're still too weak._

As he finished washing up and sat back on the roof, getting more comfortable, he saw Mrs Wizzard leave the inn.

_I wish she wouldn't do that. It's not good for us to be split up right now...Oh hell, I guess she knows how to handle herself._

Patrick was tired. The adrenaline and blood lust were retreating. Sleep would have to wait just a bit though. His mind began to roll through some of the possibilities for the immediate future.

_We have to assume that The Company will be waiting for us. They will surely outnumber us. They must be willing to fight given tonights disaster. Either we hit them now anyway or we wait for help. If we wait, The Company could go underground again and continue to grow in strength._

It was too clear. They'd have to strike back soon.

_Jake and Jeannie were pretty torn up. They should rest. Hell, I need the rest...but not too long._

Thinking about his earlier participation in the 'feast', Patrick found himself feeling... Remorse? Regret? What good could it do him now. He just hoped that he would be able to show some restraint in the future.

Below him, the displaced citizens milled around, some making up their minds to return to their homes and salvage what they could, some giving in to the grief. None were aware of the vampire above them, watching, listening.

Except...somewhere. Patrick couldn't put his finger on it, but he sensed that somewhere out there was another watcher.

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Sat at the table Jeannie finished her drink and looked around the bar room. She saw Jake enter from outside, that confused her slightly. She had thought he was upstairs, she shrugged it off, she hadn't been paying much attention to what was going on around her while she had been sat here.

She got up and got another drink,although all the beer behind the bar wouldn't be able to numb the grief she was trying to ignore...and sat back down. Taking a swig, she spoke to Broc again

"Oh yeah, theres also a group of vampires who are pissed off and could come after us at any point. So all in all if today gets any worse I'll be amazed"

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Patrick had been up on the roof for awhile now and had to admit that he was feeling drained and sore as his body protested the days events.

Deciding that he'd better get something to eat and a proper seat, he jumped down from the roof -startling the few passersby close to the inn.

Walking inside, he spotted Jeannie and Broc at the table and ordered a drink and something, anything to eat before joining them. Not sure what Jeannie was going to say, Patrick tried to get the conversation moving away from him.

"Broc! You look a little worse than a few old battle horses I owned once! Glad to see you made it."

Not wanting to give anyone an opening, he continued, 'So. Any ideas how we're going to end this? I don't mind being the underdog now and then, but this is going to be a knock-down-drag-out if there ever was one.'

He was grateful for the drink and food that arrived at that moment; it meant he could concentrate on his plate and not have to look anyone in the eye.

'By the way, anyone know where Mrs Wizzard was going?'

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Jeannie looked up at the noise of the door and saw Patrick enter the inn. She sat quietly watching him as he ordered his food and drink before he walked over then joined them at the table.

She noticed how he avoided looking directly at her, but she didn't say anything until he mentioned Mrs Wizzard

"Going? She's gone out? Oh great...wait here a moment, I'll be straight back"

Jeannie stood up and went upstairs, the priest was sat in the room with the girl. After a brief conversation the priest told her that Mrs Wizzard had gone for a walk and asked him to watch over Jakes sister while she was out. She came away wondering if the priest was ok, he seemed pre-occupied and not his usual happily insane self

_Jakes sister, so thats who she is. Looks like she's going to be ok, she looks much healthier than when we first brought her here_

Jeannie was glad of that, she lived every day with the raw pain of losing her own little sister, she wouldn't wish it on anyone else. Before heading back downstairs she stood for a a moment, pushing away the memories of her sister...the grief they always brought was too much to bear right now. She had enough to cope with today  
Once Jeannie had composed herself she returned to the table in the bar and sat down with an appreciative sigh as she took the weight off her aching limbs

"Apparently she's gone out for a walk, no idea where she's headed to. She should be ok, shes a tough lady." _I hope..._ she added mentally

She picked up her beer again and took a good long swig on it. Well, she was going to have to speak to him at some point  
"Glad you've joined us Patrick, did you notice anything while you were out there?"

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Soot clinging to her boots, Mrs. Wizzard walked down the street. She knew it probaly wasn't the safest of times she could have chosen, but she wasn't worried. Thieves and Assassins were probaly too preoccupied with repairing their guilds to bother with her.

The Unseen University was her first destination. It had actually held up pretty well aginst the fires. She stepped inside. After a while, whose length was somewhere between long and short, Mrs. Wizzard stepped out again and walked away.

Heading back to the inn, Mrs. Wizzard began to feel a bit creeped out about how the desserted the streets were. Humming to herself for the comfort, she began speedwalking, nervousness beginning to grow.

Not really noticing which direction she was heading in, Mrs. Wizzard didn't stop until she saw the bodies. It was clear that they were dead, but something was odd..There was a blotch of dired blood on their necks.

Mrs. Wizzard gasped as realization dawned on her. Each fallen face bared an expression not of struggling to cling onto life, but just of tired defeat. She stood motionless as her thoughts raced.

_He couldn't have..could he?_

Slowly walking up to them, cautiously as if they would spring back up at any second, Mrs. Wizzard shuddered as she looked to their necks. Only the smallest amount of relief came to her. Standing in a crowd of corpses brought very little relief to anybody, no matter what you were looking for.

_No, a lot of these marks are too big, his fangs are smaller than that..But, one or two of these look about right.._

Standing up very slowly, Mrs. Wizzard stood there, not really knowing what to do or how to feel...

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"I don't know what it was, but I got the feeling that someone else was out there watching us. If The Company is serious about us they could be trying to figure out our next move. But, maybe it was nothing. Could just be my nerves."

Patrick wasn't so proud that he couldn't admit that he was beat. Today had been insane and it wasn't looking like it was going to get better anytime too soon.

"Do you think we can trust the inn-keeper here? All we need is a few hours of rest."

He hoped that they could all sleep for at least the next four hours or so; then they'd be in better shape to travel.

"Jake told me his sister is here. Everything okay with her? He was pretty concerned."

Finishing the last of his drink and meal, he decided to try to set them up for the remainder of the night.

"I have enough gold to cover rooms here and maybe we can ask the inn-keeper to bar the door for the next few hours. There's a stable out back. I'll stay there. We shouldn't all be bunched up together anyway."

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Finally, getting her thoughts together, Mrs. Wizzard rubbed her forehead.

_You're too tired for this,_ she thought _Rest first, panic later_ Her body was grateful for the thought. Her feet acting of their own accord, Mrs. Wizzard turned around and began walking back in the direction of the inn. She probaly would have started running for the look of it ('cause wizards are just into that sort of thing) but she just didn't want to bother right now.

When Mrs. Wizzard reached the inn, she walked inside and spotted her friends at the bar. She ordered a drink and sat down with her friends.

"Hey, guys, I'm back," The words came out in a yawn.

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Jeannie greeted Mrs Wizzard with a relieved expression on her face ans stifled a yawn of her own. Satisfied that they were all back inside, Jeannie answered Patricks questions

"Rest would be great, the Inn Keeper seems ok but this is Ankh Morpork, can anyone be trusted here?"

Jake had told him about his sister? So thats what he had been doing outside, Jeannie was surprised to say the least.

"His sister seems to be ok, she's just sleeping now...which is what we should all be doing. I agree, we need to bar the doors and make sure the Inn keeper knows it's more than his life is worth to open them before we wake up...thankyou Patrick It's kind of you to cover the rooms"

She yawned again, her eyes were getting heavy. She wasn't going to last much longer

"It's no good, I have to rest...we'll talk about our next move once we've all had some sleep"

She bid her friends goonight and walked upstairs, she went into the room next to the one wiht the priest and Jakes sister inside, and flopped onto the bed. She was practically asleep before she hit the mattress

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As Jeannie left, Patrick walked over to the bar to speak with the inn-keeper. At first the man almost laughed at being asked to close and bar the front door when there was so much activity outside, but the sight of the money pulled from a coat pocket soon quieted him down.

Patrick concluded business and returned to the table with Mrs Wizzard.

"He'll do it. We've got the run of the place for the next four to five hours. You all take the rooms upstairs. I'll be outside."

Sitting there with Mrs Wizzard in the now private inn, Patrick realized that she really wasn't afraid of much. Her life right now consisted of hanging out with some of the wildest creatures ever imagined.

"How do you do it? How can you stay so sane in all this mess?"

He watched as the inn-kepper finished securing the door and windows. Anything coming in would have to either make a lot of noise or try the upper floor. That wouldn't be a smart move.

Patrick looked at Broc, sitting there quietly, deep in thought perhaps.

"Broc, you'll have to forgive me. I don't know much about...well...you know. Do you need rest? There should be room upstairs for you. Go on, at least patch yourself up while we have the chance."

Excusing himself, Patrick took the inn-keeper to the rear of the building and walked out into the stables.

"I appreciate everything you've done for us tonight. You should rest as well. This city will be very busy over the next few weeks and business will be good for you. Now listen; I'll be out here for the rest of the night. Lock this door behind me and don't open it for anyone. When I need to come in I'll go around to the front and knock."

With that, Patrick made his way into an unused stall and prepared a bed for himself. He was used to living rough, this wasn't too bad. The only other occupants were two horses at the far end of the yard. They had seemed unnerved by his appearance but calmed down once he settled into the hay.

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Jake's body ached, he wasn't sure he could ever remember feeling so terrible, even someone shooting him with a silver bolt would be a welcome distraction at the moment. He lowered himslef to hte floor beside his sisters sleeping form. She was older than him and really only half sister, but she had been the one to stand up for him when the others bullied him, she was theo nly one that seemed to have a true spot in her for him and he would be ever grateful for that.

Deciding that perhaps the less complicated mind of the wolf might be able to cope wit hthe pain better he allowed himself to change. The wolf that was Jake looked pretty ragged as well, dried blood caked his coat and clumps of fur seemed to be missing. His skin seemed to crack in places where it was still crisped from being burnt. Closing his eyes he lay by his sisters bed and did his best to try and sleep.

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Jeannie slept deeply, even the change into the wolf as the moon rose into the night sky didn't wake her.

In the early hours of the morning she stirred, her wolf mind hazy with sleep. She shudderd at the memories of the dream she had awoken from, refusing to dwell on it she stood up on the bed and shook herself.

She listend, all seemed quiet for now. Nothing smelled out of the ordinary, the first rays of morning were creeping through the tiny window. She changed back to her human shape, feeling stronger and clear headed again after her deep sleep.  
Pulling on her trousers, she thought about the task ahead of them. Well, the first thing she needed to do was get a decent meal and wait for the others, then they could discuss how they were going to tackle this new problem.

She held up her shirt infront of her, missing both sleeves it was still servicable but she could do with some new clothes too. Well, that woiuld have to wait. She finished getting dressed and went downstairs to get some food, as she did so a banging on the front door almost made her yelp at the sudden noise in the silence of the dawn...

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Finally tired of waiting the doors crashed open and an inpirious figure stood in the doorway flanked by, what looked like, two large wolves whose faces remained impassive, but doubtless were quite prepared to say, tear someone's arm off and have a tentative chew should the need arise. Behind him in the street stood a coach wit hthe Von Uberwald family symbol place upon its side. His eyes came to rest on Jeannie as one of the few in the area. He was a handsome man, obviously used to being obeyed, certianly the Alpha male, his gaze bore into hers and for a long moment he said nothing his expression unreadable.

"Where is my daughter?!"

He demanded the question seeming merely a faster way of fidning out as the wolves were already making their way towards the stairs.

Jake's body still ached, somewhat less than yesterday, but he heard joints creak and protest as he moved, he dearly would love another day for his body to recover, that stuff that Mrs Wizard had given him had been great, but it seemed to merely delay payment of his bills. His lupine ears pricked htough and the scents of his family drifted to him. As quickly as he could he stood, and since that was slower than the three members of his family the door to the room burst open as he was finding his feet. His father examined the room and moved over to Sasha looking at her sleeping form. The commotion had evidently disturbed her and she opened her eyes.

"What-" she began but was interrupted by his father

"We are leaving for Uberwald, the house is being repaired and I will not stay while we have people trapsing about our home."

He looked down at the wolf that was Jake.

"You must come with us now or else walk the distance, there is only enough coaches for one trip, the rest were burnt, I have made arrangements should you wish to remain here. We leave in an hour, meet us by the old house."

With that he lifted Sasha and left. Jake stayed still watched them leave, he hadn't even gotten to speak with Sasha. They were all leaving? had their home really been damaged so badly? Jake lowered hismelf to the ground again and began licking his wounds wondering what he was going to do, he had to help though, he knew that. 

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The rest of the night had been a hazy memory. Mrs. Wizzard vaguely recalled Patrick asking her how she hadn't gone mad, then after he'd left, she remembered, she'd gone upstairs and flopped down on the bed in the nearest vacant room.

Now, conciousness came to her as she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. She didn't even have enough time to comprehend where she was when the crash from downstairs jumpstarted her body, causing her to fall over the side of the bed.

Down on the floor Mrs. Wizzard could hear a man's voice she had not heard before shouting something about his daughter and said he was taking Sasha with him. Jake must really love those loving family reunions. She waited until she was sure the man hads left before she relaxed and pulled herself together.

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Patrick had jumped at the sound of the commotion at the front door. When he had finally fallen alseep it had been deep.

Raising himself to his feet he became aware of more wolves than just Jeannie or Jake. Not knowing what was happening just yet, he took up a position just on the other side of the wall from the front of the house.

A lack of arguing or fighting from inside told him that he was not needed just then. A quick peek out over the top of the wall showed him the coach waiting. A nervous coachman held the reins like his life depended on them.

_I doubt The Company would advertise like this..._

He jumped up to the top of the wall, wincing at his sore body. Standing there calm and motionless he waited for whoever was inside to come out.

The early morning sunlight crept along revealing for the first time, the level of destruction caused lastnight.

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When the door burst open Jeannie tensed, she met the mans gaze evenly showing neither fear nor aggression. As she looked back at him the scent hit her, taking her mind back to the icey river and her sisters body...the scent on the cloth was now all around her emenating from this man

Through the shock she was dimly aware of the 3 werewolves going upstairs and coming back with Jakes sister...his daughter? So he was Jakes father.

_Jakes father? Minnies killer was Jakes father? That man killed your little sister!!_

The words screamed at her in her mind

It took every ounce of self control that she possessed to simply stand there clenching her teeth and fists. She might be impetuous sometimes but she wasn't suicidal. She stood no chance against 3 werewolves on her own and she knew that even through the black thoughts that were urging her to attack.

Once they had gone she turned, and went back up to her room, the expression on her face would have been enough to scare the wits out of any number of vampires if they came face to face with her right now.

She forced herself to go past Jakes room, entered hers and slammed the door behind her so hard it was a wonder it stayed on its hinges. She walked over to the small basin in the corner with the cracked mirror above it. She clenched the side of the sink and stared into her own eyes

Her anger and grief boiled over and came out as pure unadulterated rage. The mirror smashed beneath her fist, her knuckles bled as she took the room to pieces, she wept and screamed as she smashed everything she could get her hands on

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Patrick saw the men leave with Sasha and climb into the coach, he waited half a heartbeat, almost expecting Jake to come running out behind them; when he didn't, Patrick figured it wasn't his place to intervene.

Entering through the now demolished front door, he caught the look from the inn-keeper and assured him that more gold would come his way for this inconvenience.

Patrick heard Jeannie upstairs, the rage and frustration absolutley clear. Walking up to second floor he looked in on each of the group before coming to a stop outside of her door.

"Jeannie, I know this isn't the time, but we need you to focus some of that in the right direction. We can't come apart now."

Either she hadn't heard him or was ignoring him, because the sounds coming from the room didn't let up.

Resigned to waiting, Patrick stood, back to the wall outside of her door and tried to think.

_Something about those men really got her worked up, but Sasha didn't resist, so there was nothing to do. Jake might have to handle that one._

"Jeannie! What do you want me to do?"

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Through the torrent of rage that was pouring out of her Jeannie was vaguely aware of Patrick's voice. After a few more moments though she ran out of things to take out her frustration on and stopped, breathing heavily.

The room was completely demolished, her hands were bruised and bleeding yet it wasn't enough. There was so much she wanted to say, so much she wanted to pour out of her grief stricken heart but she summed it all up in one sentence which she screamed at the door outside which Patrick stood

"THAT WAS THE BASTARD THAT KILLED MY SISTER!!"

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When the screaming started Jake nearly leapt clear out of his pelt which of course ignited his injureis again. The change was never usually painful, this time it was and he had to sit on the floor for a few minutes trying to get his breath back before he dressed himself and quickly glanced in the mirror. His wounds were still clear, but there was no blood just scabs and sores, but he knew that if he'd been human he woudl be dead by now so he gave his body a break and just had to hope that his werewolf healing would deal with it as quickly as it could.

He walked to where Patrick was now standing having to lean agianst the wall to support himslef while he woke up. He listened to the shout and the smashing and decided that he didn't think he could face her so he looked at Patrcik.

When the scream came he said nothing, just stood feeling his injuries suddenly more than before.

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Patrick couldn't believe it! He didn't know if he should run afer the coach or - well, what else was there to do?

He figured Jeannie had held back because of the all the muscle that had arrived on the coach, but...

_Oh hell! Now what? Go after them or deal with this mess first? Wait a minute..._

"Jake! Where is that coach headed? Who else might be going along?"

They might be able to take care of both situations as long as the coach had to travel.

"Alright, I'm sure everyone is awake by now. Get washed up and dressed. We'll have breakfast and get our act together. Come on everyone - we are literally running out of time!"

Heading downstairs Patrick called to the inn-keeper and ordered food and drink for all. He was feeling frustrated now to know that the very person that Jeannie had been hunting for so long had been right here - and nothing could be done about it.

He also knew that the situation with Jake and Jeannie would be ever so slightly different from now on.

"Sir! I'll need to ask you for yet another favor. I need...weapons. Any ideas?"

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Deciding that it was safe to come out, Mrs. Wizzard stepped out of the room, saw Jake and Patrick outside of Jeannie's room, and joined them.

"Turning out to be a fine morning," she mumbled. "Lesse, we've got two werewolves, one cut up and bruised, the other enraged, a vampire, a wizard, and an el- a unique priest. So, what do we do now?"

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Jake blinked as Mrs Wizard spoke, _wow_ he htought _we really are a rag tag team_.

"I am not cut up, it looks a great deal worse than it really is."

Seeing Patrick so galvonised he rushed (well perhaps more like limped) after him.

"What do you think yo uare actually going to do? Jump ont othe coach, shout heeya! take the reins from the driver and then deal justice swiftly with a silver sword? You can't do that!"

Jake pointed out helpfully. This situation was putting him int oa very difficult situation indeed, there was no evidence that his father had done it save a piece of cloth that a wereowlf could smell a scent on, but anotehr werewolf could just as easily say there was no scent on it and even so, it was just a scent. He had come here for a simpler life and up until the waking up naked in sto lat he had been fine. 

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Hearing Patrick head downstairs, Jeannie stood for a moment getting her breath back. Despite how she was feeling right now she knew he was right, they had to get moving.

She would have washed the tears off her face but the basin was in several fragments in various parts of the room, so she just wiped her face with her hands, took a deep breath and opened the door to go downstairs to the others.

She heard the end of the conversation as she came down

Walking down the stairs she said quietly but firmly

"No, we're not going to go after the coach. Thats not your fight Patrick...but thankyou"  
She really meant it, her gratitude at his readiness to go after them was immense. She hoped he knew how much that meant to her

Walking over to a table she sat down infront of the food and drink as though everything was completely normal and she hadn't just gone into a complete fury upstairs. She gave Jake a look that said quite clearly 'this isn't over' before looking around at everyone else in the room

"So, we're going after the company..whats the plan?"

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"I don't know exactly."

Patrick wasn't so sure about Jeannie cutting him out of the fight with the man in the coach. Before this was over things could go either way.

"I spoke with our good friend, the inn-keeper. He may be able to get us some weapons. I know how you may feel about using them normally, but this isn't normal. There's only six of us and gods only know how many we're going up against."

He looked at Jake next, taking into account what he had said earlier.

"I don't know what I was planning on doing Jake, but it isn't like me to sit back and watch something happen. I'm either in the middle of it or gone completely, but I don't like having my hands tied.

As they sat there, the inn-kepper retured and whispered something to Patrick. He hurried away again to finish clearing up the mess.

"He says we can get what we need from him. No problem. I asked him, because I didn't think we'd have the luxury of simply walking back to the Watch House and rummaging through the debris to find the armory. If there is a Watch left, we'd probably be pressed into service doing community work. For now, we should wing it before returning to Carrot or Vimes."

Now for the plan. He didn't have one. He'd come up blank for the minute, but thought that maybe...

"I don't know about a plan. Maybe all we need to do to find them is to make ourselves readily available, seen. Maybe get the word out that we're going to the Patrician with information, going to the University to get some help. That might force them to act before they are ready."

He didn't have anything to add after that. The feeling of frustration was still there. He didn't like someone getting the better of him.

"Maybe after we deal with The Company, we can go after...I mean, maybe you could use some help finding that coach."

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Broc had walked out an hour ago. He knew he would need some help.  
Stepping into the near total blackness of the Biers he scanned the room. It went silient.

"You know what has been happining, and a small undead girl was hurt. Im going after the bastards who did it. Im looking for some people to help me."

There was silence and then a bogyman got up and stood in front of him. Broc couldnt remember his name. started with an S. his voice rumbled to life.

"I will help you."

Broc nodded.

"Me Too"

Broc turned and saw a golem standing in a corner. What did a golem do in a bar. Broc nodded at him and asked.

"whats you name?"

"Saw 17, But I Liked To Be Called Just Saw."

Broc shrugged and waved them to follow them. As he approched the others with the bogyman and golem behind him, he thought, wow what a motly group we are?

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At the mention of weapons Jeannie instinctively recoiled "No, werewolves don't use weapons"  
_memories of her sisters battered and stabbed body ran through her mind_

"Usually" she finished realising she was staring at Jake as she said it

"But you're right we need any extra edge we can get here...ok, I'll agree to carry a weapon but I doubt I'll use it."

She went to take a sip of the drink in front of her and stopped

"Yeah, you're right. Staying away from the watch suits me right now"

she didn't add why it suited her, she needed time to think on that one for a while

The wreckage of the inns door caught her eye

"Speaking of weapons, we still don't know if your blood drinking friends are going to spring on us at any point do we? Carrying a few stakes each would be a sensible precaution. I can make plenty from that door over there" she gestured in that direction.

Jeannie thought about Patricks request to help go after the coach, she still wasn't sure what to do about that. If it was a straight forward situation then she would accept like a shot but the man she was after was her friends father...that changed the whole situation. That was something else that was going to need thinking about and she wanted to talk to Jake alone first before doing anything rash. There were a few questions she had, a few things she had to say

She simply shrugged and managed a smile and said "Thanks, I'll get back to you on that one"

Standing up she walked over to the wrecked door, and began pulling it to pieces putting the large sharp splinters in a pile next to her. It gave her time to think while doing something useful..


	8. Chapter 8

Jake said nothing, there was nothing to say, his body was still hurting and he was not sure what to say to Jeannie. His father was his father, whatever he had done but Jeannie was Jeannie. There was no way on earth he would wield any weapon, a stake was different, he didn't intend on using that to club them to death, just to finish them off. He wondered how much this mornings events would effect them though, they were outnumbered and now how focused were they? Jake knew that he kept finding his htoughts wandering back to Sasha.

"Where are we going then?"

He decided it would probably best if he kept his reservations to himself. At the end of the day Patrick was right, if they didn't do anything now this worm would bury itself back in the cit yand just get fatter, it's head was out now, they needed to go and cut it off. He just hopeed it wasn't one of those that grew back two heads every time you cut one off, that would be a very bad 

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Broc walked up to Jennie who was taking apart the door.

"umm i got some good news and some bad news, the good news being that i got some help. the bad news being that they are some what odd"

great a bashfull bogyman and a crazy golem.

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The Priest had missed just about all that has been happening, he had been exploring his second nature carefully. He stood up brusquely, walked into the middle pf the room, waved the innkeeper away and shouted:  
'OK you guys, lookee here.' He seemed to grow taller amd his ears seemed to lengthen. He stared at them in silence.  
_Come on, telepathic wossnames, dont fail me now._  
Aftere some time he asked, slightly worried:  
'You got all that? Any questions?'  
_Well, i explained as I did to Mrs Wizzard. Should be good._  
He also made a mental note of picking up a weapon on his way out. Not an iron one.

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Patrick understood their eaction to the use of weapons, but he didn't have any such reservations. He'd gladly wield a crossbow again.

He watched Jeannie pull the door apart with ease and tried to answer the question put forward by Jake.

Well, we only know about two addresses used by The Company up to this point and now there's no guarantee that they're still in use. We had two definite contacts, but now they're dead. I wonder if it's possible to go to one of the guilds for help? The Theives Guild or maybe the Assassins? I'm not sure where to go right now."

He saw Broc walk up and overheard the statement about extra help. Right now he'd be glad for anyone offering to help.

The Priest stood up and suddenly addressed the group after having been silent for so long.

_Half-Elf? Bloody hell! This just keeps getting better and better doesn't it?_

Just then, a man appeared from the rear of the inn and motioned to the inn-keeper. Handing over a large canvas bag, he accepted the money handed to him and retreated quickly, never looking at the others. Patrick got up and took the bag from the inn-keeper and returned to the tabe. Opening the clasp, he looked inside and smiled.

"My, my, my! Look at the toys!"

Four disassembled crossbows, eighty bolts, four silver daggers, a mace and two swords. Quite the eclectic assortment, but effective nonetheless.

"Not a full armory, but given our current needs it will suffice. Sir! I congratuate you on your ability to produce when called upon!"

The inn-keeper nodded and returned to the bar, satisfied that all was well.

"Okay Jeannie. I'm ready. Any ideas on where to go first? And please, keep those stakes away from me please. I've developed an allergy."

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Jake's thought's echoed Patrick's own when he saw the priest, this day seemed to have more twists and turns than a bent cork screw. As the weapons appeared he could feel the silver, perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks but whenever there was some around he could feel it and it made his teeth tingle. His clothes were baggy, giving hi ma strangely formless appearance they were the only weapons he needed, clothes that you woudln't get tangled up in.

"The assassin's had something taken form them but they weren't keen on discussing it, perhaps they are annoyed at the ocmpany or perhaps there is someone in the Assassin's guild that is linked to the company. If we go en mass to the assassin's guild,k or what remains of it, with lots of weapons it probably wouldn't the best of ideas.

We have hte weapons, we have...a small group of people, but at the end of the day do we really know where to go? Both our leads are dead and the city is...being rebuilt, again."

All we need know is for that damned bounty hunter to hsow up again with her new little mongrel and then this day would officially be the worst he had had in a long itme. 

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When the priest spoke Jeannie glanced up from what she was doing

"Did you just...are you really a..why am I even surprised!?" She brushed her hair out of her face with her hand as she stood up straight and watched the man bring in the sack of weapons

She could tell there was silver in there before she even walked over

_oh bloody great!!_

She looked in the sack and shook her head. She picked up one of the swords being careful to avoid the silver daggers that glinted evilly on the bag, she felt it's weight and put it back. Too cumbersome, she was a wolf she didn't need to carry metal with her. If anything it would slow her down in a fight.

"I can't use these things. You guys kit yourselves up. There's lots of stakes over there, take as many as you can comfortably carry in case we meet any bloodsuckers"

She looked around and vanished upstairs for a moment, when she came down she had a bed sheet that she was tearing into sections. She fashioned crude pouches out of them and filled each one with as many stakes as she could cram in there

"There,it'll be easier to carry plenty of them now"

She sat on one of the tables and stared at the floor, thinking hard.

_Where to go next? Damn it, the trails going to go cold, we have to think of something!_

Almost on cue a silver bolt came through the window and quivered in the table a few inches from Jeannies leg

Instinctively she sprang away from the table and threw herself onto the floor, she looked across at her friends who had wisely done the same thing

"Looks like maybe they came looking for us instead huh?"

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"By the gods!"

Patrick had been a little slower that Jeannie but found himself on the floor behind the table.

He couldn't see anything from where he was and din't really want to stand up just yet. The door was a gaping hole into their only cover.

Picking up the table he threw it towards door attempting to block the obvious opening, making it just a bit harder for someone to stroll in.

Grabbing the bag from the floor, he ran to the rear of the inn taking up a spot behind the wall. The rear entrance to the inn was open, but the yard behind looked clear.

Patrick quickly assembled a crossbow, found a bundle of bolts and tossed them back into the room. "One up! Grab it!"

He had just finished the second bow and was fishing in the bag for another bundle when a second silver tipped bolt slammed into the wall next to his head.

""They're behind us as well!"

Using his foot, he closed the door to the yard and locked it.

"Here's another bow!"

Throwing the bow to the floor he immediately grabbed the third from the bag, a bundle of bolts and started for the stairs.

"I'm going up top! Watch that back door!"

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Mrs. Wizzard grabbed a crossbow and quickly loaded it. The moment she stood up an array of bolts flew into the room. Desperately dosdging each one she cried out.

"Oh, this is a good way to start the morning, eh, guys? A little mortal combat and possibly sudden death."

Firing the corssbow, Mrs. Wizzard hit the ground. The bolt blew a perfect little hole in the table that was barracading the door. Outside she could hear someone yell.

"Dammit, they got me in the leg!" Then another voice chimed in.

"Get over it, what are you, a vampire or a mouse?"

"Well, technically I can be bo-"

"Shut up and fire the dam thing!" And with that, annother array of arrowed flew into the room.

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Weel, using a weapon wasn't a matter of choice now, this was long range fighting. Leaving the other bow on the floor for someone else to grab Jeannie made a dash for the sack and rummaged inside for the last crossbow and ammunition, she nicked her hand on one of the silver blades as she grabbed the bolts. She swore under her breath as she assembled the bow.

Having got hold of a long range weapon she made a dash to the door and took cover behind the wall next to the open doorway, keeping herself pressed against the wall she aimed her bow over the top of the table and fired

The scream of pain that followed made her grin in satisfaction

She quickly loaded another but as she was about to fire she heard a thud at the back door

"Someone cover the back!!" she yelled as she let another bolt loose, there was another scream...either she was a damn lucky shot or she wasn't missing because there were a lot of targets.

She preferred the first option...

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Reaching the top of the stairs, Patrick made his way to the last room at the far end staying low as he passed each doorway.

He loaded the bow and made his way to the open window. Looking out onto the ground below he saw a couple of victims, the recipients of fire from inside the inn.

Just on the other side of the street he saw movement from behind a cart and caught the glint of sunlight reflecting from a silver tipped arrow. Taking aim, he fired the crossbow and watched as the bolt flew in almost slow-motion toward the target.

The figure crumpled behind the cart and didn't move again.

Reloading and looking for his next target, Patrick felt rather than saw his next opportunity. A hooded figure appeared in the window as the attacker scrambled up the outside of the building. Startled, Patrick grabbed the figure by the face, dug his fingers into the flesh and shoved, sending the thing to the ground where it landed a full twenty feet from the wall.

crack

Another bolt almost hit him, fired from below. Unable to see the shooter, Patrick abandoned the room and found the next open window down the hall.

A body was laying in the street, but apparently the poor guy still had it in him to fire off a shot. Again, Patrick aimed and let a bolt fly, hitting the figure in the shoulder - almost pinning him to the ground.

Moving from the window, he stopped after reloading and tried to calm his racing heart. If he was still enough, maybe he could sense the attackers by their heartbeats...Nothing. He was too worked up.

"How are we doing down there? What do you see?"

Waiting for an answer, Patrick hugged the wall and made his way back to the top of the stairs.

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Jeannie strained to see what was going on outside but more arrows came flying though the doorway. She pulled back quickly, and reloaded her bow. She looked around the inn, no-one hurt so far.

She shouted back up to Patrick

"No-one hurt. We've taken a few down. Under heavy fire down here!"

Another thud at the back door interrupted her

"Sounds like we're surrounded! Oh sh...!"

She was cut off as a dark shape ran towards the doorway, she brought her bow round quickly and managed to get a bolt through its neck before it could get over the table. As the body fell more bolts pepperd the room, one grazed her arm but not severely, just enough to make her swear from the bubbling burning effect that the silver had on her skin.

She reloaded again, all of a sudden the twenty bolts she had started with didn't seem so many

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"Mrs Wizzard! Now would be a good time for something really big! ANything at all would be appreciated!"

Patrick fired two more bolts out to the front of the inn. Hearing the thud at the rear of the building, he was definitely starting to fear a breach. That was what he needed. His impulse to do some serious damage was rising to the surface and he could feel a change coming over him.

Moving to one room facing the rear of the inn, Patrick shot a bolt at the attckers at the back door. One cried out and fell to his knees, but the other two stood their ground and continued trying to open the door.

_To hells with this!_

Patrick jumped from the window landing squarely on top of one of the men. Grabbing the other by the throat he hurled the human backwards into the wall knocking him out.

_I'll be back for you later..._

Grabbing the other two figures from the ground he walked to the wall and threw them both over. He delighted in the thud they made as they hit the ground.

Turning back to the remaining form, Patrick grabbed him and put him over his shoulder as he jumped to the top of the wall. Getting a clear look at the street he saw a few bodies on the ground and maybe four more attackers still putting up a fight.

"Excuse me gentlemen. I seem to have found some of your garbage!"

Without another word, he turned and grabbed hold of a window frame, swinging his body into the room above. He was just about to drop the 'garbage' onto the floor inside when a bolt caught him through the shoulder. The pain would have been tremendous exccept for his current condition. He would pay for it later.

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_I do have one thing that could finish this, but I have to make sure I don't end up killing Patrick as well_

Mrs. Wizzard ran over ot the stairs leading up to the floor where Patrick was.

"Patrick, I need you to cover your eyes!" she yelled up. "Go inside a closet, put a pillow over your eyes, or something, just keep them closed!"

Hoping desperately that Patrick had heard her, Mrs. Wizzard jumped out one of the first story windows and looked around for a way up to the roof. There was a fire escape ladder on the side of the inn. Quickly, she scrambled up it and onto the top of the inn.

Finding her balance, Mrs. Wizzard reached into an inside pocket on her robe and pulled out a small locked cage. Inside was a salamander, like the ones used in iconographs, but what she was planning to do with it would make one hell of a picture.

Mrs. Wizzard rattled the cage fast enough to make the salamander sick and dizzy, and dropped it onto the roof. Hitting the deck, she hastily pulled her hat over her eyes and shut them tight.

Miliseconds passed before the cage nearly exploded with light. The blinding flash covered the entire perimeter of the inn. Down on the ground, enemy vampires blinked out one by one, crumbling to dust, only a few just barely escaping, but still with severe injuries. Mortal attackers hit the ground, or ran away screaming and shielding their burning eyes.

After ten long seconds, the light finally died down and flickered out.

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He hadn't said anything, he'd only thought it, how could he make things worse jsut by thinking about bad things, it seemed unfair. All the hair on his body seemed to stand to attention as silver bolts whizzed through the air. Someone burst through the back entrance and ran screaming athim, Jake was so stunned that he nearly got run through, but his wolf saved him and jerked him out of the way before his human brain kicked in again and he slammed the guy to hte floor with such force the guy fell unconscious instnatly.

So there he was, unsure what was happening around him save for the people htorwing themselves at him and ducking and diving and punching and biting for all he was worth. When the flash came purple psots seemed to dance in front of his eyes and he did a stupid thing, he stood still. Two silver tipped bolts pierced through the fabric of his shirtt. Jake seemed to shake and go still, staying upright because he was pinned to the wall. After a breathless moment he looked down.

"My Damn shirt! How many sets of clothes am I supposed to carry on me? t'snotas if I have pockets the whole time you knw, it's not easy u know."

He seemed to be saying to anyone who would listen. He moved away fromthe wall his shirttearingand the bolts staying embeded in the wall. 

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Jeannie was aware of Mrs Wizzard running and shouting, but her attention was taken by trying to take out the men still firing through the front of the inn.

When the flash came her eyes shut themselves just in time, being inside the inn meant they didn't get the full force of the light and it only took a few seconds for her sight to go back to normal...just in time to see the silver tipped bolts seemingly strike Jake. Thinking he had been hit it felt like her heart stopped...

_Oh please gods no!_

Seeing him tear his shirt away from the bolts that were embedded in the wall and step forward complaining about the state of his clothes she felt herself breath again.

Jeannie looked around, everything seemed safe for now. There were a few piles of ash outside and the sounds of footsteps running away from the building. She could hear Patrick and and Mrs Wizzard upstairs, it sounded like they were ok.

She threw her empty crossbow down, and walked away from the door. Her arm was bleeding but it wasn't deep, just damn painful due to those evil silver tipped bolts.  
Jeannie just was relieved that they all seemed to have got through it in one piece or at least still alive.

"I think it's a safe bet that visit was a present from the Company." she said rubbing at her arm

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Patrick had covered up just in time. Although he couldn't see the light directly he more or less felt it. Things like this were hard to explain; kind of like using a new sense that hadn't come with instructions...

When the light faded, he slowly stood up, risking a look out the window onto the street below.

"Good going Mrs Wizzard! You are my new favorite person on the whole Disc!"

Standing up straighter he could feel the wound left by the bolt in his shoulder. His arm was numb and weak; the shoulder and his neck began to throb with each heartbeat. Looking down at the floor, Patrick grabbed the unconscious form of one of the attackers and dragged him down the stairs to where the others stood.

"Found one!"

Only now seeing the other body at Jake's feet did he add, "Oh."

The place was an absolute mess. Patches of wall were missing or pockmarked with arrows and smaller bolts; bits of wood lay all over. The inn-keeper was peering over the top of the bar with eyes wider than dinner plates. He ducked back down as Patrick, in full vampire mode, walked over to the hole that had once been the front door.

"I'd say you were right Jeannie. That wasn't anything less than a full assault. Not a mere robbery or crime of opportunity."

Turning back to the group he said, "And hey! We've got trophies as well!"

Now it would be easier to locate The Company. Hostages would talk. There was only so much loyalty a person could show to an employer.

Finding a place to sit amongst the rubble, he reached up and tugged on the bolt. It was too hard trying to pull it out from the front; he hadn't had the good sense to get shot from the front.

"Um. A bit of help here?"

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Jake walked over to Patrick, took a cursory look at the bolt gripped and yanked. There was a little resistence but then it came out with a slurp.

"Like taking a cocktail stick out of a weenie."

He pointed out, okay he could have been gentler, but where was the fun in that. The silver tip scraped along his scab. He dropped the bolt and the quiet wreckage rang with the sort of language people in the shades might think twice about using. Then it stopped and Jake cleared his throat.

"Well...that was painful." 

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Jeannie winced as Jake yanked the bolt out of Patricks shoulder, then again when the bolt scraped Jakes wound.

"You know there are some things you should never say in the company of a lady," she announced once the air was no longer blue, then she grinned "So it's just aswell I don't give a..."

She was interrupted by a groan from one of the men that had been caught.

"Ok, lets get these two restrained so they can't cause any problems when they wake up...and who knows maybe they'll feel like talking after their nap eh?"

Jeannie dragged two sturdy wooden chairs over to them aswell as some of the lengths of sheet. It didn't take long to get both the men trussed up nice and safe on the chairs, now they just needed to wait for them to wake up...

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Patrick helped hold the men to the chairs as they were tied down. His arm was still numb, but recovering well. Remembering the last time he tried to interrogate a prisoner, Patrick decided to busy himself with recovering the weapons and assorted gear that was now thrown all about the place.

He found the inn-keeper still ducked down behind the bar and got the man to his feet.

"I'll help you get this place secured. I doubt they'll be back, but not having a front door does present some problems."

He felt bad about the damage the inn took. The poor guy behind the bar was just trying to make a living and in the space of a few minutes the place had almost been destroyed.

"When all this is over, I promise I'll be back to help you."

That was the best he could right now. As he thought about what needed to be done, a walk outside proved to him that all was not well.

_Not one copper. No help coming at all. I wonder what happened to the Watch?_

Looking over his shoulder to the Golem that he'd almost forgotten was there, he asked, "What's your name then?"

"Saw."

"Saw. I see. Er...do me a favor will ya? I want the front of this building covered. Nobody gets in. Nobody. If you can find something suitable, I'd appreciate a new door there also. Got that Saw?"

"Yes."

"Thank you sir."

Turning his attention to the stable yard, Patrick went to check that there weren't any stragglers waiting in the stalls.

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Jake looked at the two tied up assailants and decided that his 'special' brand of interogation was not really what they needed right now. True it would be productive, well productive for him, it would make him feel better, but they'd probably tell him anything he watned to hear by the end of it, besides he wasn't that guy anymore. He was suddenly inspired an looked at the two prisoners evilly.

"e right back."

He dashed out of the inn and decided to go down the streets he usually remembered seeing Dibbler down. He knew he'd find him, despite the city suffering through fire and floods, the city of Ankh-Morpork still managed to go about their business, even if much of that business happened to be, rebuilding their business.

The surprise that sprang to Dibblers face when Jake asked for all his meat pies was quite amusing. THe suprise turned to unease though, someone eating that many pies would urely not be well and something deep inside of Dibbler was struggling it hthe salesman in him.

"Are you going to et 'em all?"

He asked tentatively, but only after he had accepted the omney.

"No, they're fo...some people I know."

Dibbler seemed to cher up and nodded a quick thanks before disappeaing off.

Back at the inn he placed the pies on the table, cutting them up into smaller pieces.

"Okay" he said looking a the two tied on the chairs "You're going to answer my friends questions or...I will feed you meat pies."

Their faces seemed to light up and they were about to laugh, this was the bit that Jake really loved.

"They're some of Dibblers special pies."

It was just worth it to see their faces crash and a tinge of fear replace it, he almost wished he had an imp in one of those boxes. 

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When blue and purple dots stopped flashing in front of her eyes, Mrs. Wizzard stood up on the roof and opened the cage, releasing the salamander. It crawled away and took refuge in the rain gutter. As Mrs. Wizzard began to make her way back to the fire escape, some of the roof shingles slid away, resulting in her fall through the roof, and onto the next floor.

"Fate's laughing at me right now, I just know it," she grunted. Sitting up she saw that where she landed was _right next to a bed._

"Okay, now he's just being mean." Dusting herself off, Mrs. Wizzard made her way to the stairs.

Coming down to the first story, she was just in time to hear Jake's threat, and smiled at the look on the two men's faces.

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Sat on one of the tables Jeannie desperately tried to keep a straight face at Jakes threat of force feeding Dibblers organic pies to the men, it was truly inspired

"Well gentlemen, you heard my friend. You are going to answer every question I ask you or else..." she gestured to the table

Jeannie stood up and slowly walked in front of the men "The first thing we want to know is who you work for"

The men looked at each other, obviously unwilling to speak

"Oh dear, they look hungry!" Jeannie said with a malicious tone in her voice

As she said it the men's gaze fell back to the pieces of pie on the table, both of them turning a distinct shade of green. One of them spoke

"The Company"

Jeannie nodded, they all knew it anyway but it was best to be sure before going after anyone

She stood in front of the man who had spoken, folding her arms she gave him a look that made it obvious that she was not going in for idle threats here and the gods only knew what Dibbler actually put in those pies.

"And now you are going to tell us everything you know about the Company. What they do, who is in it and of course...where we can find them"

The men looked at her in surprise, one of them even looked amused

"You!? You are going to go after the Company? but you're a..."

Jeannie smiled sweetly at him "Yes? I'm a what?"

The man swallowed, for some reason the slim female in front of him seemed a lot more dangerous than she should be

"You're a wom...You'll be killed!"

Jeannie simply shrugged "That's not your problem, but if you're not going to co-operate then I'll have to let my friend here take care of you...don't worry he'll make sure you're well fed"

She turned away and winked at Jake with a grin on her face, this was much more fun than the watch interrogations

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The Priest had dissapeared. After a while he walked out of an alley, grinning. One of the attackers followed him, cringing. He didnt look wounded, however.  
The two of them found the rest of teh group and before the Priest could open his mouth, someone interrupted him:  
'Where the hell have you been?'  
'Well, I took care of almost a dozen of these blokes, heh.' boasted the Priest, adding: 'I didnt _kill_ them. Let me demomstrate.'  
He turned towards the scared prisoner:  
'Boo.'  
The prisoner let out a sound which cannot be expressed on paper and cringed.  
'See? The interrogation is not going to be a problem.' the Priest beamed.  
'But how did you know we were going to interrogate someone?'  
'Come on, youre always interrogating _someone_ !'

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Walking through the stables, Patrick didn't find anyone hiding, but he did recover several more weapons that had been left behind.

He had always admired weapons in the regiment. He used to sit and watch the armorer for hours turn hot steel into a fine blade. Some of the more intricate designs required days to finish.

Looking at the blades, each in turn, Patrick noticed...something. Each blade the same. making a pile by the rear door to the inn, he ran to thr front of the building and took the weapons from the street where they'd been dropped after the assault.

Each one had the same little...

Taking several of the specimens with him, Patrick went back through the front doorway, noting tha Saw was indeed preparing to put a new door up. Where he found the door, Patrick didn't ask.

"Uh, Jeannie. Excuse me, a word please?"

He hadn't wanted to interrupt the interrogation, but this may have be a find.

"Look at these. I collected all these from the street and have another pile of goodies at the back door. All of them were left behind when our friends left."

"Look at the blades. See that mark? I know it's standard for an armorer to place his personal marks on each weapon he makes, but this looks different. I don't think I've ever seen one like it. It's on all the blades, all the crossbows and I'd bet - "

Patrick walked over and pulled a bolt from the wall. Inspecting the tip he walked back to Jeannie.

"Yup See there? It's on the tips also. All of these were made to order."

He was stuck at this point. He knew this had to be a clue, but since he'd only been here a few days, he didn't know any of the local armorers or dealers.

"Another step closer to finding our friends?"

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Deciding that Jake and the priest could easily handle questioning the hostages for now, Jeannie reluctantly turned away from what was proving to be a very amusing interrogation.

When Patrick showed her what he had found she frowned as she took a closer look. "You're right. This dosn't look like a standard mark."

She examined one of the blades being careful to only hold the handle. It was an extremely well crafted weapon with, she noticed, an extra twist to it...

"Have you noticed the blade is edged with silver? Silver tipped bolts and weapons with a silver edge.These are certainly custom made"

Handing the blade back to Patrick Jeannie leant against the wall with her arms folded, thinking about what they knew so far

_I've just handed a silver edged weapon to a vampire. How's that for trust!_

"Well, it was mentioned that one of the things the Company deal in is werewolf pelts so I supopose silver weapons would be a must...and have the added bonus of being just as lethal to anything that isn't a werewolf aswell"

She looked again at the pile of weapons Patrick had recoverd, her skin crawled at the amount of silver that had been forged into the perfect shape for causing lethal injuries to her kind

"I have no use for weapons so I'm not familar with the armorers in the city, but I'd happily bet that whoever is making these is a local. And I think it's safe to say that the dwarves would had over any amount of silver to keep their Grags safe..." Her sentence trailed off as a thought struck her. She stood up straight

"Of course! Everyone knows that the best smiths in the city are dwarves. It all fits!"

_well, that narrows down the search slightly and gives us a new lead_

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Patrick had a thought. Finding the inn-keeper, he asked the man about the one who had brought the weapons to them earlier.

"And is he trustworthy?"

"As good as they get sir! He'd give the shirt off his back if he had one to give sir. I've known him ever since I moved here some years back."

"Good. Find him and ask him to come here. Tell him I don't want to know anything about him, even his name, we just need to ask him a few questions."

Returning to the others, Patrick told them, "I asked the inn-keeper to bring our helpful neighborhood weapons dealer back here. He might be able to give us a precise location on our target. It couldn't hurt."

He noticed that Saw was putting the finishing touches on the new front door and had even scrounged up more wood to board up the windows. As a base of operations, it wasn't much, but it would have to do

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Once the priest appeared Jake knew, from the reactions of the prisoners, that there was little point in the pies, but hey cruel and unusual torture coudl always be funny, perhpas he coudl get the priest to make them eat the pies, of course it would have to wait until _after_ they had got what they needed from them.

When Patrick to Jeannie to one side and they began there whispered conversation, Jake couldn't hlep but overhear, perhaps because he was trying, which really wasn't much of an effort for a werewolf. Standing he walked over to them, he glanced at one of the blades and a thought occurred to him.

"I know you said you thought them local but..." he stopped and tried to reason why they would do it. "but perhaps these weapons are from the consignment that was stolen that was destined for the assassin's guilds. I mean I'm sure the company is wealthy, or at least it seems to be, but the Assassin's guild woudl certianly have the resources to buy this stuff."

It was slightly troubling that the assassin's would even want stuff like this, there werne't that many werewolves in Ankh-Morpork, or at least, he'd not met many and he was beginning to wonder why they would need such weapons

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_Bad cop, bad cop, eh? This'll be fun._  
He absentmindedly played with the tip of his right ear, which had lengthened itself a bit.  
After a while he realised that he had been vaguely listening to the trails of thoughts of the rooms other occupants.  
Wondering if this was a good thing he walked over to them

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The thought that the Assassins would have orderd so many of these specialist weapons disturbed Jeannie, she couldn't repress a small shudder

"Well, either way I don't like it. We know why the Company would want these things but why would the Assassins want this many silver weapons? And how would the Company know where to find the consignment? The Assassins are experts at keeping things secret"

Something occurred to Jeannie that, although it would possibly answer that question, was still unsettling

"I really hope I'm way off the mark here but what if the company have someone inside the guild? They could have placed the order for the weapons then given instructions to the Company for the interception at the warehouse. There would be no paper trail leading back to the Company and the Assassins would pick up the bill...but it would have to be someone high up in the guild for them to get away with it"

She was probably just grasping at straws but it sounded plausible. Jeannie hoped the Inn Keepers friend would arrive soon, he would probably be able to confirm if the mark on the weapons was one from the city or not then it might shed some light on the origin of the weapons. She sighed and sat on a nearby table, leaning back on her hands she idly swung her legs thinking about the past couple of days

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Mrs. Wizzard was standing by the stairs, watching Jeannie and Patrick talking. Glancing towards the hostages she noticed that one of them was looking at her nervously, in case she was going to help the other four torture them.

But he was also looking at her in a curious kind of way, asif wondering if she could really do magic, or if she just liked walking around in the outfit. Deciding to have a little fun, Mrs. Wizzard gave him a friendly smile and waved. He managed to force a nervous smile back. Still smiling, Mrs. Wizzard snapped her fingers, and the man almost shrieked in terror as...nothing happened. He looked up at Mrs. Wizzard, who was now grinning evily. She was silent but her eyes were laughing maniacally. It was always scarier when a wizard didn't let on whether or not she could do magic.

_Oh, this is going to be fun_ she thought to herself

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The inn-keepers friend finally returned, looking somewhat nervous. Entering the rear door as before, he saw the assembled group, the obvious damage that occured in the fight and the two tied up prisoners.

Patrick gestured to the man to stay behind the partition so that he wouldn't be seen by the two men sitting. Walking over to him, Patrick took one of the crossbows, a random blade and a bolt. Showing each in turn to the man, he asked if the armorers mark could be identified.

"You know what happened last night. You see the damage here? Same people. We may be able to put an end to them, but we need to identify this."

At first the man didn't seem likely to give up any information, but then something in him changed.

"You say this lot did the burnin' last night?"

Turning the blade over and over in his hands, he took a minute before speaking again.

"I never wanted anything like this. I just sell things y' know? My only thought was to make the next dollar, I never figured any of this would get ugly...This mark is dwarvish. Really exclusive that is. I've only ever seen it one other time. Out on Edgeway street by the Rimward gate, there's a general store; behind that is a stand of trees that almost blocks the front of a small shack."

Patrick listened as the man continued.

"I was ther was to pick an order, you know, for another customer. My contact was a little late so I went to the door of the shack and pulled it open. Inside I saw that the floor was open, you know, like a trap door? Well, there were some steps leading down into the ground and another door at the bottom. A lamp was glowin' and I saw this mark carved into the door. I knew better than to go down there, so I made my way back out nice and quiet. That's all I can tell ya. Honestly"

Dwarves. Great. Jeannie was right.

"Edgeway Street, Rimward gate, General store. Thank you, sir. Wait here."

Patrick turned back to the group and told them exactly what the man had just revealed.

"Well, what do you think? Sounds reasonable? Dwarf weapons, mining oil stored in tunnels dug under the city, Hammersmith, the Grags? Looks like we know where to find our little trouble makers."

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Jeannie stayed sat as she was on the table listening to what Patrick had been told, she glanced over at the man who had identified the mark. He looked nervous but that was hardly surprising given the damaged inn and the ragged, bloody group infront if him

She nodded slowly before she spoke.

"Ok, so we know where to find where these weapons came from. I think it's worth a visit of our own don't you?  
You guys should get yourselves kitted up with whats left of the weapons before we go anywhere. Patrick, do you think you can convince that man to supply you with more crossbow bolts? We used a fair few during the attack"

Sliding off the table she stood up straight, and looked around at her friends. They had all changed in the few days she had known them, some more subtly than others. Jeannie wonderd if there had ever been a stranger group of companions

_Is it my imagination or have the Priests ears grown?_

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Patrick spoke to the man, handing over some gold for his troubles.

"As many as you can, and quickly please!"

Almost as an after thought, Patrick asked him, "By the way, ever hear of a group around here calling themselves 'The Company'?"

The man looked quickly around the room but didn't atually make eye-contact with anyone.

"No. No sir." With that he turned and left, promising to return quickly with the bolts.

Patrick looked to Jeannie, "That wasn't very convincing was it? Maybe he just knows when he's over his head. Then again, if this little trap door is going to lead us straight to The Company, we may have to find a new use for our two friends here."

Looking at the two men tied to the chairs, he gestured to the pies on the table and to Jake. "What do you think guys? Anyting you want to tell us? Or have you out-lived your usefulness? Your choice."

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Jeannie watched the mens reactions to Patricks question, OK time for some fun

She marched over and stood in front of them, putting her hands on her hips she glared at them.

Jeannie put one of her hands out towards Jake without taking her eyes of the bewildered men

"Pie please"

Jake handed her a piece of Dibblers finest merchandise. Trying not to smell what exactly was in it she advanced slowly on the men, looking at each one in turn, the smile on her face was unnerving

"Ok gentlemen we're going to play a game. I'll ask a question and the last one to answer me gets to eat some of Dibblers organic meat pie. Sound like fun eh?"

The men shook their heads emphatically, Jeannie grin widened and she shrugged "Well, I'm going to enjoy playing. First question, where can we find the Company?"

The men looked at each other, one of them shook his head. The other one looked at his friend then looked a Jeannie "Edgeway Street! There's a door under a little shed sort'a thing, it's the entrance to their headquarters"

Jeannie nodded "Well done and Thankyou, and for you sir" she turned to the unfortunately quiet hostage "Open wide please"

After a brief struggle Jeannie walked back to the table, there was a gagging noise coming from behind her. She picked up another piece of the pie

"Next question, who do you take your orders from"

The speed at which both men spoke in unison was almost comical

"The Boss!"

Jeannie rolled her eyes "Well obviously, but what's his name"

One of them spoke first, "We don't know, he's just known as The Boss. He stays under the ground and gives his orders from there"

Jeannie turned to the others and shrugged "Could be another dwarf?"

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Jake watched Jeannie, she was really very good at this and she was a watch officer, she obvoiusly played the bad cop during an interogation. To be fair htough Mrs Wizards way of making them jibber and scream was qutie amusing and seemed to use hardly any effort on her part whatsover, very neat.

"We know where we're going, we are now sure that the company is there, or at least the people who are important in the company are there, why don't we get ourselves down there and say thanks for such an exciting chase, not to mention the various things that have happened to us. Bolts are not going to be that useful down there, it's going to be dark and a pretty confined place. We have two werewolves, good wit hthe biting and the clawing, a wizrd, good for magic and general mayhem, a vampire again for the biting and the clawing and uh..."

It was no good he coudln't do it

"A Pointy eared priest who, let's face it, no one wants to mess with." 

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Jeannie nodded in agreement and put down the piece of pie she was holding, much to the obvious relief of the men tied to the chairs.

Jake was right, they knew everything that they needed to know and when they were underground the groups unique skills were going to be of more use than any weapons.

Turning away from the men she looked around at her friends

"Well there's no sense in hanging around. We know where to head to, let's go"

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Patrick grabbed a crossbow off the table and a handful of bolts that he shoved into a makeshift bag. He would have liked to have waited for the dealer to return with more, but time was slipping by.

"Alright. I'm ready."

He looked at the group and found that Saw and Broc were also ready. The bogyman was nowhere to be seen, but that wasn't all that unusual from what he'd heard.

"I'm not too keen on walking the entire length of the city, too many eyes. Any chance we can get there a little more discreetly?"

The dealer finally appeared again in the back of the inn, carrying a small sack with what he said were two hundred more bolts.

Taking a bundle from the bag he handed the rest to the man along with two crossbows.

Looking at the inn-keeper, he said, "You two watch over our friends here. Give us about an hour after we leave, then find a Watchman or send someone to the Patrician's palace. Get them taken care of. Have the Patrician take these weapons back with him. That's what we call evidence. The bastards that did this to the city are the same ones carrying those. You won't want to be seen near anything like that in the next few days, I promise."

He turned to face the group again.

"Shall we?"

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Now that they had a target, a purpose he didn't feel so useless. Okay travel through the city but without attracting too much attention.

"Patrick, we're in an inn there must be a coach here, at least one. We can get horses harnessed in and use that. The watch can do that right? just take off with other people's stuff if it needs to? I'd classify this as a need indeed."

He could feel the inn-keepers eyes on him, but he also knew that the man wasn't really sure about protesting, the gorup had taken down a far larger force and come out of it with minor injuries 

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Ah yes, of course. A coach. Jeannie nodded and turned to the Inn keeper. Before she could open her mouth he nodded wearily and headed out to the stables to get the horses ready. Jeannie watched him go out of the door

"You know, I really feel sorry for the poor man. We've only been here for one night and his inn is trashed."

She made a mental note that if she survived this she would come back here with a bag full of coins. It was the very least she could do

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"Well, it looks like we're all ready for yet another fun-filled day," Mrs. Wizzard said, sarcasm covering every edge to her voice.

Glancing, once more, over to the two men, still tied up, Mrs. Wizzard decided to make their day. Walking over to them, she picked up a piece of Dibbler's pie from the table. The twp men flinched, and the one who Jeannie had foreced to eat some of the pie earlier looked like he was about to cry. Mrs. Wizzard gave them a friendly smile.

"Don't worry, boys," she said. "I'm done messing with you." And with that, she happily ate the piece of pie and walked over to her friends. Looking back, she laughed at the sight of the men. One was desperately trying not to throw up and the other looked at her as if she had just told him there was a live bomb in his stomach. Quite satisfied with herself, Mrs. Wizzard turned back to her friends.

"So, what do we do with those two?"

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The stable yard smelt of tack, horses and the rather more incongruous scent of dampened burning. The cobblestones underfoot, usually a myriad of earthy tones were covered in a sooty grime. It seemed that despite having escaped the flames, the inn had not managed to escape the dust and other rubbish blown to it on the wind. By the time Jake emerged from inside the horses had been harnessed to what he assumed would pass as a coach. Both animals and coach seemed to be time warn and in need of some attention, but he supposed it was all they and this wasn't really the time to be picky. Jake supposed that no one would be able to see who was inside the coach, but a coach going round the streets of the city right now was going to look a little strange again another problem they could do nothing about.

As Mrs Wizard exited the inn he thought he could here sobbing and retching coming from inside and decided that he wouldn't ask. Instead he approached the coach, as he did the horses both turned to him and snorted.

"I guess this wouldn't be the best time to mention that I have a very negative effect on untrained horses."

Of course the Von Uberwald horses were trained, their instinct suppressed but getting into the coach and the horses knowing he was back there might make them run all the more quickly, but would they stop running? He knew that strangely not all werewovles had this effect on horses, he looked at Jeannie wondering if she would do a have a similar effect, if that were the case the horses would run _really_ quickly and might be impossible to stop 

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Seeing Jake look at her Jeannie answered his unspoken question with a shake of her head. She didn't have that effect on horses or the coach trips to and from Sto Lat would have been much more eventful. But if Jake did then that was going to cause some interesting issues when it came to controlling these horses

She couldn't think of anything else, the coach seemed like the only option for getting them there quickly and keeping them concealed

She shrugged

"Well, it's certainly going to be an interesting ride then.."

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Walking out of the inn, Patrick saw the horses react to Jake and hoped this wouldn't deter them from using the coach.

"Well, I don't know if they like me any better, but why don't you let me take the reins and we'll see what happens?"

He hoped that the coach would be able to take them all.

"Mrs Wizzard? Any way you might be able to lighten the load so to speak? Maybe trick this old bucket into feeling a bit lighter on it's wheels?"

He knew that the golem would never be able to ride on the thing, so Patrick suggested that Saw could stay behind and watch the prisoners while helping the inn-keeper repair the place.

"He'd be too big the get into the tunnels anyway...

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"Lighten the coach? I can do that, easily," said Mrs. Wizzard. Walking up to the coach, she noticed that it was covered in rotting wood decorations, things that had been glued on for show. This was going to be a shame. But, he did ask her to lighten it.

Mrs. Wizzard pulled her leg back and gave the coach a kick, ending in a hollow _thump!_ Almost instantly, as if happy to leave, the wooden decorations and attatchments fell from the coach and crashed to the ground. All in all, the coach now merely looked like a big box on wheels, being pulled by horses.

"Well, that should lighten the load quite a bit." She turned around and saw their expressions. "What, you were expecting a magic show?"

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Jeannie was admittedly slightly disappointed at the non-magical way that Mrs Wizzard had solved the weight problem but she had solved it all the same. Not wanting to hang around Jeannie opened one of the doors

"Ok then, what are we waiting for? Lets get inside and get this thing moving."

She climbed inside, the coach didn't smell much better than it looked and the seats were worn and not exactly the height of comfort but it would get them there and that was the main thing. Sitting down and waiting for the others to get in she really hoped that Patrick would be able to keep the horses under control, from the sounds they were making they sounded like they would hapily bolt the minute they got a chance

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Jake was beginning to wonder how Mrs Wizards mind worked, and then stopped immediately as he began to get a headache, besides it was probably far too disturbing a thing to contemplate anyway.

Jake was the last one in, the coach gave a lurch as he disappeared out of sight of the horses and suddenly Jake remembered why he never travelled in small spaces and why he had refused to get into a coach with them in Sto Lat. Deciding that this wasn't the time to remind people and telling himslef the Journey wasn't as far as Sto Lat, he sat down somewhat stiffly. Jake heard Patrick release the break and the coach, seemingly without a great deal of coaxing, shot forwards at the sort of speed you'd expect skin to melt at.

Jake didn't say a word, all his concentration was focused on how small the coach suddenly seemed and he wondered if he could turn down the sound of his heart. Humiliation sat at the fringes of panic, he seemed to be more of a liability to this group than a help, Shame joined at the fringes and shared a bucket of popcorn with humiliation as panic seemed to be hogging the main stage at present. If someone spoke to him he didn't notice the sound of blood rushing in his ears was drowning everything else out, but he was proud that he seemed to be managing, it couldn't be much further at this speed

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The coach was thundering along the road, and Jeannie was looking intently out of the window. They would be there very soon at this speed. A subtle change in the air made her turn, and she found herself looking at Jake. He seemed very edgy

_oh bugger! I forgot about his 'thing' about coaches!_

He seemed to be coping though, Jeannie decided it was probably best if she didn't bring attention to it. She looked around at the others wondering what they were all about to encounter, they all knew the probable danger yet were still prepared to face it together

_and you thought you had lost real friendship when you lost Chrys? look around you, how much more real can you get?_

With that last thought echoing around her mind she glanced out of the window again, it looked like they were nearly there...

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Patrick was barely able to control the horses at first. His previous experience had been with the supply train in the regiment and those carts and coaches moved considerably slower than this.

The coach rocked from side to side as they made their way along the streets and the noise was enough to alert the pedestrians with enough time to move or run out of the way.

Deciding to try to avoid the Isle of Gods, Patrick steered a course that would take them to Misbegot Bridge. He had learned a bit about the city in his short time here and just hoped this would turn out to be shortcut and not a disaster.

Broc hung on the seat next to Patrick, grinning like a wild man. "You really know how to drive this thing don't ya!"

_Oh, if you only knew the truth!_

A few minutes more brought the coach to the bridge which was looking like it had seen better days. The fire had scorched one side and what stone was left crumbled to dust as they sped along.

Just as the Rimward Gate appeared in the distance, Patrick was able to slow the coach down and finally bring it to a stop in a cloud of dust. There were few buildings on the street to begin with and the few citizens in the area were preoccupied with their own matters to notice the arrival.

"Everybody still with me?"

Climbing down from the seat and opening the doors, Patrick was greeted with a few grunts and groans from his captive passengers.

"What? You think this was a cruise through the park?"

A quick glance around showed the General Store to their left and about 80 meters up the road. It looked closed.

"Come on then. This might be the quietest it gets around here."

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Mrs. Wizzard tumbled more than stepped out of the coach. Her eyes were still spinning, or maybe the rest of the world was spinning and her eyese were still, either way it took a moment for it to all come into focus again.

"Ugh, maybe I shouldn't have eaten that pie before we left." She turned and looked into the coach. "Hey, the rest of you still alive in there?"

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"Ugh, yeah...I think!"

Jeannie was the last to get out of the coach, she looked at Patrick as she clamberd out

"Well, that was very...quick"

Trying to ignore her bruises from the journey, Jeannie took a quick look around. The store wasn't too far away and they knew that behind it was the place they had been wanting to find since all this started.

"Ok, everyone ready? good, lets go"

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Patrick loaded a bolt into the crossbow and slung the bag over his shoulder. He knew that this wasn't the weapon of choice in the tunnels, but still - they'd just been attacked by a bunch of arrow throwing goons and didn't like the idea of not being able to shoot back.

As the group appraoched the front of the general store, he saw that it was indeed closed. The fire hadn't touched it, it hadn't been looted, so why was it closed? Patrick thought that such a place would have done great business by all the paople needing supplies and food today.

_It's probably not just the shack behind here that The Company uses...This was their way of making money locally. Now they're in hiding._

Stepping to the side of the building, Patrick raised the crossbow up and kept it ready as the others approached.

"Nothing. I don't see anybody."

He felt Jeannie tap him on the shoulder and as one the group moved down the side of the store, coming to a stop at the rear corner. A quick look told him that yes, there was the shack - and once again, no sign of anyone else. He tried to feel ahead of himself, looking for hidden heartbeats, but either he wasn't strong enough right now or the distance was too great.

He didn't like the idea of putting someone in harms way intentionally, but he motioned to Broc to take the lead and open the door to the shack. Anything short of massive explosion wouldn't do him any real harm. As Broc moved to the door, Patrick kept scanning the area with the bow, just in case there were any hidden sentries.

To see him, anyone would have thought Broc was just out for a stroll about town; he showed not a care in the world as he opened the door and briefly disappeared inside the shack. Coming back out a few seconds later, he motioned to the group to follow him and once again disappeared inside.

Patrick played tail-end Charlie, walking backwards and last in line to the shack. He kept scanning the windows and doors of the store as they crossed the open ground.

_I can't believe they'd just let anyone walk right up to their entrance like this. Either something is seriously wrong or maybe they've bugged out and left the place..._

"Let's get down that hole quick. I want to close this door behind us."

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On the approach to the shack Jeannie was straining her senses trying to pick up anything unusual. She could smell many different scents coming in and out of the door but nothing to suggest that there was anyone close by right now

Entering the shack she scanned the floor. There was a hole in one of the planks that would have looked just like a knot hole if you hadn't noticed the well hidden lines of the trapdoor.

Sliding her fingers into the hole she pulled to trap door open revealing a dark stairway with a heavy looking oak door at the bottom. Just as the weaponsmith had said there was the mark on the door.

Walking down towards the door, she grabbed the handle..

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Jake moved so fast to geto ut of the coah that one moment he was there and the next he had burst through the door. Now as the small group made its way down the alley he tried to stop himself from shaking and his heart from blowing out of his chest. He reminded himself that he was being an idiot that he was fine and that nothing had happened in the coach, but he was about to go int oa tunnel, he really hated this.

Dust motes swirled around their feet obliterating any traces of people who had been there before. The shop was obviously used, but they might have found something perhaps. The sense of silver was strong here which didn't help with the edgyness. The gloom was thick and Jake was well aware that his night vision was the only thing that stopped him from just seeing his friends outlines. Jake kept getting the feeling they should whisper, like when you're in a library, but he coudln't hear anyone else save for his friends so it was a strange thought.

When Jeannie placed her hands upon the door and pulled the door opened without a sound, obviously something well oiled. Broc stepped in first, closely followed by patrick, it owuld be stupid to have the guy wit hthe crossbow at the back. As he drew closer to hte door the darkness around it seemed to get a great deal thicker and he was sure that it was too small for him to walk through. Nevertheless he emanaged it.

It might not have been long, but the walk in the tunnel seemed like an eternity to him, he had even stopped a few times and almost turned back to leave, but one of the group bumping into him kept him moving forwards. When the sound came it was so soft Jake htought he was hearing things, but when it continued he knew it must be real. The faint sound of footsteps, but not as of someone approaching rather of someone pacing and the even fainter sound of a flickering candle.

Moving forwards with the stealth of a werewolf he gripped Patrick's shoulder in a silent signal to stop, the others would crash into him and would no to stop. When the vampire turned to look at him he put a finger of his lips and leant forwards.

"I can hear pacing up ahead."

He whispered and looked back to Jeannie to see if it wasn't just him 

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The darkness of the tunnel made it seem even smaller than it was in reality, Jeannie fought the urge to bring out the wolf. It would fit better into the tunnel and be able to see with its nose.

Hardly able to see anything in the blackness she walked right into Jake when the group stopped and she felt somone walk into the back of her aswell. Once they had finished bumping into each other there was a moment of silence before Jake spoke. His whisper sounded surprisingly loud in the silence of the tunnel

Jeannie nodded in reply, she could hear the noise too. A soft sound of feet pacing up and down, she could smell a burning candle.

She whisperd back

"could be a guard, probably armed"

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Patrick figured now was the time to find out how rusty he had become. Handing the crossbow to Broc, he reached into his coat and pulled a single dagger out, palming it into his right hand.

He turned and whispered to the others, "Be right back."

Stepping cautiously and deliberately toe to heel, he made his way along the passage feeling out in front of him with his left hand for any obstacles. Not in full vampire mode, he was simply a human and could make human mistakes.

A slight tug at his foot revealed the presence of a tripline; what it was attached to, he couldn't tell, but he didn't have time to investgate. Picking his feet up and over the spot in an exaggerated manner, he hoped he had cleared the danger.

Up ahead the faint glow of an oil lamp cast shadows on the walls. Sitting there for a few seconds, Patrick was able to make out a pattern and thought he knew whwen the figure would be closest and when it would be moving away. Moving in time with the figure, he masked his own footfalls with that of the guard.

Careful not to look directly at the light or the back of the retreating figure, Patrick slipped out into the larger area that was presumably a waiting room of sorts.

One step, another, and...

Stepping up behind the guard quickly he was able to wrap his arm completely around the man's neck; slight pressure would stop the flow of blood to his brain and cause him to go to sleep for a few minutes. In case he decided to struggle, Patrick put the point of the dagger into the back of the guard with just enough force for it to be felt through his clothes.

"Ssshhhh!"

Stepping back toward the tunnel, Patrick dropped to his knees, bringing the guard to his back. Sleep overtook the man.

Returning to the spot where the wire had been, Patrick reached down and cut the line, waiting for some kind of response.

Nothing.

Cupping his hands to his mouth, he whispered a little louder, "Come on."

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The tunnel was beginning to feel suffocating, Jeannie really didn't understand how dwarves could tolerate living like this.

Staying back as Patrick went ahead Jeannie was impressed at the stealth and silence with which he took out the guard. At the sound of his whisper she moved forward, thankfully into a larger area.

The only light was the flickering lamp on the wall, but looking around she could make out the shape of a door set into the wall. The by now familiar mark was etched into the wood

Well, the direction they had to go was pretty obvious. She crept up to the door listening hard for any signs of people in the room or tunnel behind it. A noise startled her but not from behind the door, someone was coming down the tunnel

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Mrs. Wizzard heard the noise, too. She motioned for the others to stay put as she tiptoed over to the tunnel. Staying up agains the wall so whoever was approaching couldn't see her, she listened to the oncoming footsteps. With each step they grew louder and echoed down the tunnel. Mrs. Wizzard was sweating bullets and her heart was racing. The footsteps suddenly grew louder as they were now coming from only a few feet away. Hoping to get the timing just right, Mrs. Wizzard suddenly stuck out her foot and closed her eyes tight. There was the feeling of something making contact with her foot, a short yell of shock, and a loud _thump!_ from down on the floor.

Slowly Mrs. Wizzard opened her eyes and looked down at the figure on the floor.

_Pointy ears? He kind of looks like-Oh, crud_

"Guys, I think we just found who we're looking for," she said as she looked down in horror to the leader of the Company

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Jeannie looked at the figure sprawled on the floor  
The stink of it hit her as it lay there, it was a smell she had encountered before. She had visited Lancre during her travels before she had ended up in Ankh Morpork. There were places there that still carried this scent strongly, much to the sorrow of the inhabitants

Her hackles rose and she strode over to the creature, looking down at it a growl escaped her lips

"Elf!"

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Patrick was at a loss; of all the things he figured he would see down here, an elf wasn't one of them.

Taking the bow back from Jake, he trained it on the figure on the floor, not knowing what to expect now...

"Well, now we've got two prisoners. Maybe we could start a chorus line while we're here."

He admired Mrs Wizzard and her reasonable way of doing things. She just came at stuff head-on didn't she.

"We got anything to tie this one up with? I have a feeling we'll be needing him...right?"

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Standing in the underground room Jeannie glared at the elf infront of them. It was looking around at the group with a strange smile on it's face. Jeannie spoke without taking her eyes off it

"I can't magine an elf taking orders from any other species so I'm guessing that what we have infront of us is the The Boss"

She nodded at Patrick

"You're right, this one is coming with us. Mrs Wizzard do you have anything that we can restrain it with, or any thing made from iron?"

Jeannie relished how quickly that strange smile vanished from the elfs face at the mention of the metal

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Mrs. Wizzard sighed. "Unfortuneately, I'm at a loss here. Iron's too heavy for me to carry around, and anyway, I couldn't really do much with it since it's impervious to magic." She thought for a moment. "You're a watch officer, do you have any handcuffs, or something equally effective?"

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'Well, you should use iron.' Everyone turned to look at the Priest, who had stared at his father since he had appeared.  
'It'll block his elvish powers. Cause of elves having iron in theyr blood. Or something.' he said 'elves' with special inflections so as to make it absolutely clear that in fact he did not say 'us', no matter what any possible witnessess might say.  
He took a deep breath and added: 'I could try and rummage through his mind while he's unconscious..'

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At that moment Jeannie rememberd the cuffs in her back pocket that up until now she had completely and utterly forgotten about

She advanced on the Elf, it tried to move away but after a very brief moment Jeannie had its arms behind its back and was fastening the cuffs.

With the elf suitably restrained and whimpering at the touch of the iron on its skin before passing out, Jeannie stood back up and turned to the priest

"Ok, go ahead."

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Jake had said nothing after alerting his friends to the sounds he had heard. He watched, impressed, as Patrick moved with the stealth he had only seen, up until now, in werewolves. The thud and gurgle signalled that Patrick had brought the mystery pacing figure down and he continued to wait, listening to his still pounding heart, as Patrick dragged the form back to them. When they moved into the chamber it was hardly any better, he still felt the walls pressing in on him and he could feel the wolf's and his own anxiety, a strange feeling to describe but one that would eventually have an all too obvious result.

The second smack of a face hitting a damp floor, thanks to Mrs Wizard's well placed boot, brought Jake out of himself. Looking down at the prone figure he was surprised to be looking at what apparently was the head of the company.

"An Elf? So we just came in here, expecting to have a massive fight on our hands and the guy trips over Mrs Wizard's boot?"

And then a re-collection of what the company was doing came to him and a nasty thought followed close behind it.

"Let's skin him.. I'm sure he'd make an excellent throw." 

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The Priest didn't hear Jake's comment, he had started to search the elves thoughts. It was more difficult than he expected, but he could cope.  
_Hey, look at that pink, fluffy thought. That looks interesting._  
The Priests mind glided towards the pink fluffy cloud.  
_No, you idiot, don't! Don't you know a thing about elv...us?_  
But it was too late, the pink, fluffy, friendly cloud became a dark red and grew horns, teeth and suddendly wore a leather jacket and had a cigar in it's mouth. It swelled up and opened its mouth widely

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Patrick stood there watching the elf on the ground and the Priest hovering over him. His hands still held the bow, trained on the figure on the ground, but his attention was slowly drifting to their surroundings.

He didn't want to be there if a third unexpected guest arrived. As soon as the priest was done they'd have to move.

Where did this tunnel lead to? For all they knew they could be entering a maze. Patrick didn't mind the confined space so much, but he'd want to breathe fresh air again soon. The thought of trudging through miles of tunnels made his skin crawl.

He hoped the Priest could find out what they needed to know

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Jeannie was also looking around the tunnel, she was listening hard in case anyone else was approaching. At the moment she couldn't hear anything that caused concern

Her gaze fell again on the elf, Jeannie hadn't said anything when Jake had spoken but only because if she was honest with herself she would dearly love to hurt the creature that lay handcuffed on the cold damp floor of the tunnel.

Jeannie was only too aware of one of the things the Company did. If she allowed herself to dwell upon it the anger would become too great. She moved away from the elf, partly to get away from its smell but also to distance herself from this thing that led a company who murdered werewolves for their pelts. If the anger did overcome her, it was better if she was further away.

Wishing fervently that the priest would find the information soon she leant back against a wall, still listening for anyone approaching

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The Priest suddendly fell to the ground with a dull thump  
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Jeannie looked at the priest on the floor and sighed.

"well, we don't want to be hanging around here much longer"

Picking up the priest and putting him over her shoulder Jeannie turned to the others.

"We're going to need more evidence than 'he was in the tunnel behind the door with the sign'. We need to go at least a little bit further and see what else we can find"  
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Mrs. Wizzard did feel a bit concerned when the priest fainted. She wasn't surprised that he fainted, but usually he did it after rambling on about something, or just when he randomly burts through a door. But this time he had seemed sober enough to keep himself awake. Figuring that the thought was getting them nowhere, Mrs. Wizzard picked up the hand cuffed elf by the collar of hi shirt, and slung him over her shoulder like he was a backpack.

"Well, if there's anyone else furtherdown these tunnels who gets in our way they're going to want to write home to their mothers and apologize for being born"

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Jeannie nodded grimly in agreement, right now that staetment couldn't have been truer.

The door in the wall seemed to be the only other way out of the tunnel apart from the way they had enterd so Jeannie walked over to it. She couldn't hear anyone behind it and she couldn't smell anyone ether so she grabbed the wooden handle

_ah of course, an elf couldn't use them if they were iron_

and pulled the door open

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He could feel his anxiety at being in here turning into sour fear as they went still deeper into this place that was so enclosed and anger fuelled by humiliation at his fear bubbled up as well.

"Evidence, why do we need evidence? The guy's a murderer, let's kill him and torch the damn place. Better yet let's put him in an iron coffin and bury it."

When he looked the elf appeared to be smiling, Jake nearly went over and punched the little….but he didn't, and he reluctantly went through the door into the dank tunnels beyond. After what seemed like an endless walk a familiar smell began to permeate the air.

"You know this werewolf theme seems to be running through this place fairly strongly. Why not golems or.."

He trailed off as the scent of vampires hit him as well. Werewolves AND vampires. There was too much water to say how old the scents were, but they hung in the air like fog. Would werewolves work for the company? That didn't seem to make any sense, or did it? If you were a weak pack then surely, getting rid of the stronger ones would be the sensible thing to do…He wasn't sure he liked where his mind was taking him and decided to think of something else. Vampires were working for the company, what did they have to gain from it? What could you give a vampire that would make them loyalish? Blood? He didn't like where that thought was taking him either.

"Did I mention this place is really beginning to creep me out?" 

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"You and me both"

The scents hadn't gone un-noticed by Jeannie. And similar disturbing thoughts had been running through her mind. Trying not to dwell on them she looked back at Mrs Wizzard, that damn elf was getting on her nerves.

_he's right you know. Just kill the elf and torch this place. Then all this will be over_

_No! If you do that you're no better than the scum you're chasing. Hand the damn creature over to Vetinari then it will be over_

With the conflict raging inside her Jeannie stopped walking when the tunnel split in two directions.The mix of smells came from both directions but the scent of werewolf was slightly stronger from the left tunnel. This tunnel seemed shorter than the other with another door just a fews yards down it

She shrugged, which wasn't easy with the priest over her shoulders

"Might aswell look behind this one first"

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Mrs. Wizzard didn't have much in the way of a sense of direction, especially when it came to dark, secret underground tunnels, but something told he that she wasn't the only one on the Disc, so she didn't mind which path they went down. By this point the sense of doom was going to follow her around no matter where they went. So, hauling the unconcious elf behind her, Mrs. Wizzard followed her friends down the tunnel

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Patrick hadn't said much during the last few minutes; he had to admit to feeling a little uneasy.

He walked a little further down the tunnel and stopped at another intersection. To the left was nothing but darkness, but to the right he just make out another flame flickering some way down the wall.

"Can we guess which way we're supposed to go?"

Lifting the bow to his shoulder and keeping it pointed straight ahead, he walked a few steps ahead of the group trying to feel around him for any obvious signs of life. Either the tunnels were interfering with his new found talents or he had to be in full vampire mode to use it properly.

Reaching a second intersection he could see the source of the light; in a small room sat another guard. There was a desk of sorts, and another door directly behind the dwarf dozing on the stool in front of it.

This door was a little different from the other two they'd seen. Brass decorations gleamed in the flickering flashes of candle light and the design they'd been following was outlined in what appeared to be jewels, set right into the center of the heavy wooden planks.

Patrick backed up slowly and whispered, 'guard' to his companions before turning back to the front.

He took a step foward and felt too late another trip line catch on his foot. A little twang echoed as the line was pulled; next to the guard a makeshift alarm jingled just enough to stir the dwarf from his sleep.

Caught out in the open, Patrick was seen as soon as the guard opened his eyes. His hand reached for the short sword on his belt and he stood quickly almost uttering a cry of surprise. Almost.

Patrick fired off the bolt and it found its mark, dropping the dwarf to the ground. The armor plating of his uniform clattered somewhat as the body hit the earthen floor, but the acoustics here were crap and the sound wouldn't travel.

"Sorry little man."

Turning back to the group. Patrick motioned to them to come foward and quickly stepped to the dwarf to check him for keys and anything else of importance.

"Didn't have a choice on that one."

Finding nothing on the body, Patrick loaded another bolt and waited, looking at the ornate door

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Well there had been good news and bad news, the good news was that Jake had seen the trip wire, the bad news had een that it was only seconds before Patrick made such an elegant spectacle of himself and fell to the ground. All credit to him though, he managed to fire off the thing from an awkward angle.

"Well aren't you just the little acrobat."

He whispered as he watch Patrick reload the bow. While the vampire frisked the dwarf, Jake moved silently to the door and carefully put his ear to it. Judging by the sounds that seemed to be coming through it, it was a very thick door and then….Jake fell through. The voices seemed a great deal louder and stopped as he did so, then the door swung ajar and a startled "Bloody Hell" was heard before the sound of steel and a familiar growl game through 

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Jeannie had watched Patrick take out the dwarf and was dissapointed in herself that she didn't feel slightly more remorse at the guards death, but after everything the dwarves had caused lately it was hard to feel bad about it.

Watchin Patrick search the dwarf, she looked up at a noise and saw Jake fall through the door. Jeannie began to walk to wards him then the growl that came through got her hackles wanting to rise and she tensed waiting to see what would happen

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Patrick saw Jake fall through the door and was about to make a comment, but stopped short as the sound came through the opening.

He wasn't the kind to leave someone on the their own if they were immenent danger, but he also felt the reaction from Jeannie as she neared the door.

Keeping the bow ready he took another step closer, coming up on her shoulder.

"More friends?"

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Her eyes fixed on the doorway Jeannie nodded at Patricks question and realised she had stopped in her tracks emitting her own growl in response to the noise from the doorway.

Managing to overcome the instinct to let her wolf out she carried on over to Jake ready to face whoever was inside the room

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Well he'd never done that before, but at least he was feeling better now. Jake had decided, once beyond the door, that it would be a very good idea to allow his wolf form to show itself. The room was quite large and standing in it were a number of people dwarves and other…figures, their scents were harder to spot as his attention was drawn to the large amount of silver that seemed to be piled in the room.

"'ear is that one of 'em or one of ours?" said one of the voices beyond the doubt, doubtless one a little slow on the uptake.

"You idiot, did it look like on of ours before?"

"No, but it does now, they all look the same to me."

Decided that he'd rather not let them decide he whipped around the door and back out to his friend, the door falling shut behind him a moment before there was a number of thuds and the door vibrated. Jake appeared to be carrying the baggy trousers in his mouth and holding onto them for dear life, obviously very aware that if he didn't keep them he'd be walking around naked. Yes it was strictly true that he was naked now, but it was different when you were a wolf, people expected the nakedness but a naked human? Somehow when he was in wolf form those social distinctions made his brain hurt.

Of course vocalising his very earnest desire to be away from this room was very difficult to convey to his friends when he was a wolf, dashing back to the path behind them and looking at them in what he hoped was a "Billy's in the well, follow me" expression 

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Before the door closed after a hastily retreating Jake, Jeannie had time to take note of the vast amount of silver and had also decided that she would quite like to get as far away from it as possible.

_bloody dwarves and their bloody silver! Who's stupid idea was it to let them start mining it again!?_

She grabbed the priest back up from the floor when she had accidentally dropped him and walked very quickly away from the door shouting a brief explanation the the others.

"Lots of people, lots of silver.Lets move it!"

Dashing down the path after Jake, Jeannie looked back to check that the others were all following

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Patrick followed the group keeping the crossbow trained on the path behind them.

The door wasn't opening so he figured either they couldn't get it open or they had gone by another route.

Seeing that maybe they had really bitten off more than they could chew, he asked, "Since we have the big guy all tied up, can't we just bring him to the Patrician? I vote for touching off the next batch of oil we find and running for it!"

They couldn't arrest everyone and they couldn't carry too many more along with them

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Taking the path they had used to get this far the group beat a hasty retreat

Running along with the weight of the unconscious priest on her shoulders, Jeannie managed to catch enough breath to reply

"I agree...let's get out of here..."

Jeannie would be very glad to get the elf to the Patrician. Right now she wanted a wash and fresh clothes and she had had enough of the damn Company and these horrible dark damp tunnels. Maybe it was because she was feeling so fraught that she didn't object to the suggestion of torching the place, in fact at the moment she would happily strike the match herself

_some watchman you are...you can't torch the place if you know there are people inside_

_yes we can, they torched an entire city. They'd all be sent to the gallows anyway...we're just saving time_

Jeannie rolled her eyes at herself, it really came to something when your mind argued with itself

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The Priest awoke suddendly and shook himself loose of Jeannies grip, an action which resulted in a dull thump, a suppressed scream and the rest of the group stopping.  
He stood up, dusted himself absentmindedly and said after a while:  
'Well, I can see that your all happy to see me alive and well and not posessed by my dad...'  
Silence.  
'Cause that's what almost happened, you know, not that I expect any thanks for stopping him from freeing himself...He'll be fully awake soon, in any case...'  
He waved a hand experimentally in front of Jake's frozen face and waited for the silence to end

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Well, that was different. Mrs. Wizzard had seen the priest faint a number of times, but she couldn't recall actually seeing him wake up. He didn't even go through a moment of grogginess. it was like hitting an 'on' switch.

"Yes, priest, we're all happy you're alive," she said. "Jeannie's right, though. We should get out of here fast."

As they ran along the way they had originally come. Mrs. Wizzard could have sworn she felt the elf twitch.

Finally, they wrenched the door to the outside world open and stepped out into the light. They slammed it closed behind them. Mrs. Wizzard turned to the group. The elf began to stir.

"Okay, I say we get Papa Elf to the Patrician before he's fully concious"

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'I think that's a good idea...' said the Priest and turned to the Watchmen: 'Are elves included in the law? Anyway, I am curious why he did all that... and I couldnt find out...'  
He shuffled his feet

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Jeannie gave the priest a look and stopped on the verge of telling him that everyone was answerable to the law, because that was often harder to enforce than it sounded.

A flame of anger flared for a moment at the fact she had been so helpless to do anything about it when she had found the man she had been hunting, but she swallowed it down, there would be plenty of time for that in the future. She knew who he was now, she could bide her time. One day, maybe far into the future or maybe not, she would avenge her sister but for now...

Jeannie simply nodded towards the elf "Yes, he has broken the law and he will pay for it."

Beginning to walk away from the shack she turned around "Well, hanging around here is probably not the best idea. Lets get this creature to the Patrician, it's giving me the creeps"

Not exactly rushing but still moving briskly the group headed towards the Patrcians palace

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In wolf form Jake's relief and not being in a dark hole anymore was clear. The tension in his muscles had eased as had the slight crouch he had adopted in the tunnel as though feeling that the ceiling was too low. Standing with his baggy trousers clutched in his teeth he watched as the priest sprang back into life. It was almost as though he took short naps, safe in the knowledge that someone would carry him. Perhaps it was something he should attempt? Something to think about anyway. Deciding that walking through the streets as a large wolf he disappeared and came back bare chested but wearing trousers. Seeing the elf was staring he moved over and smacked the guy with, perhaps more force than was necessary, but it left the elf unconscious again.

So, they were going ot see the patrician, in fact all the people Jake would rather avoid he had come into contact with, why not the Patrician.

"Is it really a good idea to see the Patrician? I've heard that when he gets upset people tend to…well, no one knows because they aren't usually seen again." 

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Jeannie found herself nodding with satisfaction when Jake clobbered the elf. One downside to being a watchman was not being able to give a good clout to some of the more vile nasty type of prisoner and seeing as this one would be talking to Vetinari soon she had try and do things by the book. Jake had simply done what she wished she could so she didn't comment

"The Patricians palace is the only place we can take him. The watch house is no good until it's rebuilt." Jeannie replied to Jakes question as the group walked

"I want this thing in a nice cosy dungeon which incidently will have plenty of iron bars around it. Then it's up to Vetinari what he does with it. Once the prisoner is deliverd its not our problem anymore"

There was a brief silence filled only by the sound of their footsteps in the empty street

"besides" she added "from what I hear Vetinari has a knack of knowing exactly what you've done before you even done it. I'm sure he'll love to get his hands on the person who burnt the city"

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Broc was confused. There was something familier about the Elf. Then it dawned on him. this was the man who had hired that assassin that had got him killed. this- this- this _bastard_ had got him killed and ruined Brocs life.

"lets kill him now and get it over with"  
he growled.

without warning he grabbed the Elf 

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The Priest had restrained himself when Jake hit the elf, but started waving his hands and shouting in the air when Broc started taking hostile action.  
_Woooow, zombie brains are weird..._  
He settled with pushing the zombie to the ground

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When Broc fell to the ground Mrs. Wizzard sighed picked up the elf once again.

"Broc, a lot of us have some kind of grudge against this guy, but killing each other's relatives isn't going to get us anywhere." With that she nodded to the rest of the group and the walked on. They all continued along in silence until they finally reached the Patrician's palace. It seemed to have been untouched by the fire. Curiously enough, many of the buildings around it were scorched and still smoldering

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Relieved to have finally got to the palace, Jeannie also couldn't help notice the fact it was untouched by the recent fire. She shrugged to herself, and the group went inside.

After a few minutes they were greeted by Drumknott

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Well it was certainly an impressive sight, with the high ceilings, thick carpets and sturdy wood doors. It was usually always possible to see the palace no matter whereabouts in the city you were, it sort of became a background landscape but to be inside it? That was different altogether.

The fussy little clerk seemed to have gotten the art of making others uncomfortable to a fine art. The man seemed twitchy and yet at the same time totally businesslike. Jake was screwing up all his family arrogance and the thought of their wealth and trying to bolster his confidence, it wasn't doing a great job, but he tried nevertheless.

"Well here we are, waiting to see the Patrician, it's amazing how guilty you start to feel."

He heard it then, a slight squeak, hardly audible but it was there and he looked over at one of the carvings on the walls, he could have sworn it had moved

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The group were kept waiting for a while, not long enough to be rude but just enough to let them know that they would be seen when it suited the Patrician

During the wait Jeannies mind was turning over recent events and wondering what lay ahead now they had busted open the companies secrets

A voice filtered through to her, Drumknott was amouncing that the Patrician was ready to see them. As they were ushered through a finely polished wooden door they found themselves stood before a large desk behind which sat Vetinari

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Broc grabbed the elf and stalked up to the Vetinaris desk, threw the elf on the desk and yelled

"HERE YA GO! THIS IS THE- THE THING THAT BLEW UP THE CITY!"

Then Broc relized who he was yelling at.

"oops, um i would like to make the point that i like my head on my shoulders"

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The Priest had already developed a reflex of looking through other peoples minds, he had even tried it with the elf, but he didnt dare with Vetinari....._Well,maybe just a glimpse..._ ..ARGH!  
He started concentrating on cabbage fields, so as not to try and accidentally reach in there again.  
He had glimpsed, well, nothing really, that was the point...  
He eyed the corridor again, that carving looked a lot like...hmm...  
He opened his mouth to say something but closed it when he articulated:  
'Cabba...'  
he dared not try and think of something else

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Jeannie put her face in her hands and shook her head at her friends behaviour, walking forward she saluted

"Your Lordship, as the lance-corporal here has already informed you, at a slightly higher volume than nessecary..."

she said with a pointed look at Broc

"...This elf is believed to be the leader of The Company. I'm sure I don't need to tell _you_ sir that they were behind the fires last night"

Vetinari hadn't said a word when the elf had been dumped on his desk and the priest had begun to mumble. Now he fixed his impassive gaze onto Jeannie

_oh crap!_

"Ah, you must be the new Sergeant, Vimes informed me of your arrival. From Uberwald I understand?"

Jeannie nodded "That's right sir"

Vetinari looked around at the rest of the group, his gaze resting on each one in turn. Before addressing them again he called Drumknott in to the office. After a quiet conversation that even Jeannies ears couldn't overhear Drumknott left the office and came back with two burly men in blacksuits who picked up the elf without so much as a glance at anyone in the room, they carried its still unconcious form away. Jeannie could only presume it was going to be locked up for now

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As Vetinari was scanning the group MrsWizzard was swaying back and forth on her heels. When his eyes met hers, she almost automatically tripped and fell forward. He could really be that terrifying. She stabilized herself as the two men took the elf away. After they were gone, she stepped forward, with a gut feeling that she was going to regret asking this.

"Your lorship," she said. Vetinari cast his gaze toawrds her and her legs stiffined so fast that they could have turned to stone. She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued. "I know that there might not be any news concerning the matter, but have you gotten any news of what happened to the four assasin brothers that were being held in the Watch House at the time of the fire?"

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Of course! Mrs Wizzards brothers had been in the Watch house cells aswell. Was it likely that they could have got out?

Jeannie waited for the reply.

"Alas, Commander Vimes has not yet finished his report on the extent of the damage and casualties sustained at Psuedopolis Yard."

Listening to Vetinaris answer Jeannie thought  
_Hah!A typical politicians response. They must be dead, how could anyone have escaped during that mess?_

Vetinaris gaze flicked for a moment to Jeannie, her thoughts abruptly shut up and hid

His Lordship steepled his fingers infront of him and continued

"however I would hazard a guess that the four young gentlemen who were seen taking a coach and horses from the Post Office yard shortly after the explosions started would provide a more than adequate match to the description of your brothers."

_Thats impossible! They only way they could have got out is if someone unlocked the cells, but the officers wouldn't..I mean, Chrys was left in there_

Jeannie felt very cold all of a sudden. The Company had lots of dwarves working for it, Gigio had warned them not to even trust the watch dwarves. A dwarf officer could have easily unlocked the cells, but wouldn't they have let Chrys out aswell?

_No they wouldn't. He was the one who had taken the grags, he had sold his people to blackmail. They would have to save the companys employees but maybe even the threat of the Companys wrath wasn't enough to make them save a traitor_

Jeannie spoke again

"Sir, we can tell you exactly where the Company is based in the city. I think it's a fair bet that is also where they are hiding the Grags. Once the Grags are rescued, the Company has no hold on the dwarves anymore and this whole sorry episode can begin to come to an end. I strongly reccommend that a large squad be sent down there whilst they are still reeling from the loss of their boss"

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Vetinari re-adjusted papers on his desk that the Broc had disturbed when throwing the elf on to it.

"Well it would seem that the city owes you its heartfelt gratitude, or what is currently left of it."

Jake maintained his ground by the door, glad that he had not been addressed so far, the idea of actually talking this man was not one he relished. Mind you, would he dare to do anything when it might damage relations with Uberwald and the Von Uberalds? He decided it probably wouldn't be a good idea to push it and besides Jeannie was perfectly capable of dealing with the situation.

"Please forgive me, I am sure that you have other things to attend to, do not let me keep you. Please give the details to my clerk and good day to you all."

With that he returned to his paperwork, giving them as much attention as he would an office furnishing

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Broc stepped outside the room. When the others joined him he voiced his thoughts.

"if those brothers did somehow escape on a mail coach, then wouldn't the postmaster know.?"

Broc began to walk off.

"Im going to gather Saw and Shleppell, and then im talking to that Moist guy."

and with that last word Broc dissapered

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_Okay well that wasn't too painful._

Jeannie shrugged to the others and responded to Vetinari obvious dismissal by walking straight out of the door. She was quite glad to leave the office, Vetinari had a way of looking at people that was quite unsettling. She came away with the distinct impression that he wasn't surprised at any of what they had told him.

Whilst waiting for the others to catch up she used the time follow Vetinaris instructions and gave all the details to Drumknott who assured her he would get the information to Commander Vimes immediatly. Jeannie also asked for Gigio to be contacted by clacks back in Sto Lat, she had a feeling the brothers would head back there to hide out. Gigio could intercept them

Jeannie knew that Vimes wouldn't waste anytime in busting the headquarters right open and felt as though a weight had been lifted from the group

Once they were all out of the office Jeannie looked at the group that against all odds had become her friends.  
It felt odd to be stood there together without being shot at, spied on or otherwise being involved in a life-risking endeavour

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It felt strange, they had nowhere to go, there was no next step, the head of the company was in The Patrician's hands, and what capable hands they were. He joined the group and they left the palace. Smoke drifted lazily in the air as they walked through the streets, where were they supposed to go now? What next? They could help with the clear up or sleep or eat or whatever they wanted, there was no next step

"Well…It's finished, we can go back to our lives."

There was an anti-climax to the whole thing, his body was aching, but those wounds would heal, his family would rebuild its estate and life would move on and all of what had happened would fade into that all healing grey mist that was time

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Jeannie walked with her hands in her pockets,

"Yep, it's finished"

She looked around at the city, smouldering and blackened but knew it would rise back out of its ashes like a...well, not a Phoenix because that was far too grand to describe Ankh Morpork. Maybe a pigeon? A fireproof one obviously  
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'Y'know, I've been thinking...'said the Priest all of a sudden, whilst watching a stray, black tomcat making its way through an alley.  
'Why da... elf did all this... I think that just because he was... curios... Thats how elves are, curios about human nature...'  
Afer a while he walked up to the cat and kneed so he could curl it behind the ears, it retreated, but he gave it a stern look and it walked over to him.  
'This elf thing _is_ nice, but I'll have to keep it cotrolled... I was curious too, see...' he smiled oddly 'So that's why I'll start with religion again, go find a... an anchor, if you know what I mean.'  
'Curios.' he repeated to himself whilst standing up from the tomcat. 'Curiosity kills the cat' he mumbled and looked at his friends for the first time since they were here.  
'Well, I guess I... I'll be going then... yeah, see to the temple... look for some god... you know how it is...' his voice faded away, and he walked away, still smiling. At a point he turned around again and gave the rest an awkward wave, only to trip over a loose tile in the pavement when he continued to walk towards unknown wossnames  
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Jeannie waved and watched the Priest walk away

"You know, I think thats the most profound thing I've ever heard him say"

She turned to the others

"So what about you guys?"  
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Mrs. Wizzard waved to the priest before he left.

_There goes one of the most interesting friends that I'll ever make,_ she thought to herself and sighed.

"Well," she finally said as an answer to Jeannie's question. "I've got some decisions of my own to make, but right now I think we could all do with a drink." She looked down a random street. "I imagine we should apologize to that innkeeper for all the damage that was caused, and see if his bar wasn't completely destroyed"

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Jeannie nodded and smiled at Mrs Wizzards suggestion. After everything they had been through they deserved a few drinks.

"Good idea, a few beers would go down well right now"  
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Jake watched the priest leave and the sense of anti-climax grew

_We bring down a nefarious organisation, capture a few thugs and save lives and the world keeps turning? We got a pat on the head and a few scars and now that's it_

"I don't' think I can stay I'm afraid, I'm going ot have to get back home, I need to check onmy family and see what they've managed to salvage from the wreckage of our house here"

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Jeannie wasn't surprised that Jake was going to leave so soon. What she _was_ surprised at was how disappointed she felt about it.

"They're leaving for Uberwald aren't they? I hope it all works out for you"

Looking at her boots she mused _We risk our lives, save a few others, dodge a few bolts and then...we just go home?_

This group of people infront of her had done so much for each other and now they all just going to go their separate ways? It all seemed so disappointing, but she was already well aware that being a watchman was a thankless occupation.

Jeannie looked up at Jake

"Well before you go, I just want to say thankyou..for risking yourself and for helping us."

looking around at the others she added

"And that goes for all of you, you all deserve thanks for the past few days. We've busted a bad ass criminal organisation and saved gods know how many lives. Hardly anyone knows about it but we saved them all the same.."

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Broc Walked down the street. He was going to find out why that elf tried to have his master killed. He stopped in the middle of the street. he was going to go talk to Postmaster Von Lipwig. But he needed a drink. Waveing for Saw to follow him he headed for the inn where it had all started getting wacky for him.

"mmmm, i wonder what else can go wrong."

and he walked off to the inn

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Mrs. Wizzard nodded.

"It certainly has been an interesting few weeks, and it's gonna be hard getting back to the way it used to be." She turned to Jake. "Like Jeannie said, I hope it all works out for you, Jake, afterall, considering everything we've been through there's not much that could compete"  
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Jeannie agreed with Mrs Wizzard

"Interesting certainly covers it, as for getting back to how it used to be I think I'm going to stay here in the city...for a while at least."

It felt like the right decision. Going home to Uberwald was the last thing she wanted to do right now, besides she could learn alot from Vimes

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"Well, it's going back to how it used to be for me. Ten years back, actually." Mrs. Wizzard caught Jeannie's expression and smiled. "Let me explain," she said. "Going to Sto Lat a few days ago was the first time I've been there since I was twelve. I didn't realize just how much I missed it. So, I've decided that I'm moving back there and rebuilding my old home" Before the question could arise, she added, "If my brothers really were headed back to Sto Lat I don't think it will be a problem for me. They failed to kill me when I was a kid, and now that I have magic on my side I doubt they'll be able to reach me"  
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Jeannie patted Mrs Wizzard on the shoulder

"Well you just be careful when you get there ok, and give my regards to Gigio. Let me buy you a few beers before you leave. Its the least I can do, I havn't forgoten the times you saved my neck..literally"

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Mrs. Wizzard smiles at her friends and looks at her pocket watch.

"The next coach to Sto Lat doesn't come for another hour or so. I might as well get drunk one last time before I go"

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"An hour? Well, we had better get started then"

Jeannie grinned and gestured vaguely in the direction of the inn.

"Patrick, I hope you'll join us?" with a nod from Patrick Jeannies grin widened. A bit of fun would do them good after the drama of the past few days

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Patrick hadn't been in a frame of mind to get drunk for some time, but figured this was just about as good a time as any.

"It would seem the city I came to settle down in is more or less gone. But, I guess I could stay on and help those that want to stay to rebuild."

He thought about the last fews days and all the changes they'd been through.

"Unless there's something else for a vampire to do around here."

He'd made friends with werewolves, a wizard, a priest, zombie..Anything from this point on would have to be easier

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"There'll be plenty of time to help with the rebuild. I think we deserve some fun. The city will still need rebuilding tomorrow, and I'm sure the Commander will find plenty for us to do..."

Jeannie rubbed her hands together and smiled

"...But for now I can smell a beer keg with our name on it."

She began to walk away towards the direction of the inn

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Broc saw the gang walking up to the inn. He joined them and heard that some of them were leaving. Broc sighed. it was hard to keep friends as a zombie.

" i just want you all to know that it was a honor working with you. and-"

There was a shout of a unlicsnesed robbery. Broc sighed again. The work of a whatchman was never done. waving bye to everybody Broc went after the thief. As he was doing this he refelcted that this was how that whole adventure had started in the first place.

"HA! like that will happen again."

Little did Broc know, Fate is a bastard

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Looking around the city as she walked towards the Inn Jeannie felt sure she had made the right decision to stay in Ankh Morpork.

Jeannie would miss the priest and Mrs Wizzard, and of course Jake but at least they could give Mrs Wizzard a good send off and Jake was going with his family. She hoped the future held good things for her friends, there was a saying that wolves only look to the future...which was easier said than done when you were a werewolf and had both wolf and human traits. Humans had a terrible habit of dwellng in the past.

Well, she thought, there would be plenty of time in the future for catching up with the past.

Smiling as Broc chased the thief Jeannie decided that, just for once, she was going to be off duty, and followed her friends into the inn.

Righ now it was time to enjoy the present

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The hour went by fairly quickly with the quaffing and drunken singning..At least in Mrs. Wizzard's case

The coach pulled up to the inn as was agreed with the driver, and Mrs. Wizzard gave each of her friends a goodbye hug

With tears streaming from her eyes, she bade her dearest friends a final farewell and climbed onto the coach. As it rattled away her only thoughts were how she was going to miss them all deeply

**Well, this ends it for the Discworld RPG, I hope you enjoyed reading our madness, and I hope the boardies enjoyed reliving the fun!! But, the fun does not have to end here, for all those who loved this, we have an RPG Part 2!! We've been working on it for a while , now, and if you want to meet new characters, and still have some of the old ones, head on over to TerryPratchettBooks . com (remove the spaces) and head on over to the message boards, and if you want, you can even create a character and join in!!**

**Mrs Wizzard**


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